Students of SHIELD
by AsgardianGrizzly
Summary: Second story in Children of Hydra stories. Read those before this one. The Challengers have left Hydra in the past. But what are they supposed to do when the main threat is gone? The Challengers have risen in SHIELD ranks. They've transitioned from Children of Hydra to Students of S.H.I.E.L.D. But it turns out that even the most trustworthy friends, can no longer be trusted.
1. Prologue

Prologue – Take **3** – (oh god XD)

 **GUYS. GUESS WHAT?! IM BACK. I KNOW RIGHT?! SMELL THAT NEW STORY SMELL! XD**

 **This is my third try at this story. Ooh boy. XD This time I actually have a decent, well thought out plan! Exciting, huh? So I went right ahead and decided on a whole new start, reposting the story and everything!**

 **AND I AM SO FREAKIN EXCITED ABOUT IT.**

 **So, before any questions are asked, you should know: nothing is new about this chapter…EXCEPT SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. Please, please, please re-read if you've forgotten anything about the chapter and if you haven't than scroll right on down to THE LAST SCENE.**

 **It is brand new.**

 **Read on my friends, read on. :)**

 **I'd like to partially dedicate this story to _challengerslover_ because he/she is an amazing amazing person, who literally named their pen name after _my_ story and that means a lot to me. ;) So thank you thank you thank you challengerslover, and I hope you enjoy! ;D**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of these lovely characters (except my babies Tamashi and Johanna, and all the extras that tend to die XD)**

 **Shall we?**

 _Unknown Warehouse Facility – Monticello, New York_

3 MONTHS AFTER CHILDREN OF HYDRA

" _Come on!_ " Naia shrieked, snatching the white-haired boy's hand and yanking him around the corner right as machine gunfire erupted where he had just been standing, throwing dirt and gravel into the air.

"Hurry!" shouted a second young woman. The teen had bluish black hair falling in loose curls around her head. She wore a dirty torn up gray t-shirt and black pants that reminded them all of Prison Garbs. The garments matched Naia's outfit almost exactly. Meanwhile, all Daniel had was a bare torso and the remains of a matching pair of black pants. The girl waved them on from the end of a long alleyway, where she held open a hole in a wire fence that was lined with barbed wire.

Naia leapt through, dragging Daniel with her. "Watch it, babe! I'd like to keep my head!" he shouted it playfully, but Naia could see the wince that came with it, even in the dark. They landed roughly. Johanna tailed them. She jumped through and whipped out a Glock that she had swiped earlier. Firing two shots, she took out two of the dozen men that charged at them on the other side of the fence.

Naia scrambled to her feet, dragging Daniel up with her. She grabbed Johanna with her free hand, desperately pulling her with as well. _They couldn't go back. They couldn't go back_. She repeated frantically in her mind. The trio got their footing and sprinted across the grass plain, heading for one of the many thick forests. A bullet skimmed her ear and she hastily released Johanna's arm and brought her hand to it to halt the bleeding. Johanna took the rear, behind the other two, and fired away into the small group of guards that raced after the trio.

A metal collar bit into Naia's flesh—the same collar could be found on Daniel—and she let out quick pained breaths into the night air. Her body was stained with cuts and scrapes, matching the many on Daniel and Johanna. All three were thinner than usual, gaunter and slightly paled. Johanna had a limp, and Daniel was clutching his side as he ran in an attempt to staunch the bleeding that emanated from it.

None of them stopped running.

Pine branches whipped their arms and faces. Naia's eyes blurred with tears, but she choked it back and continued to sprint. Daniel stumbled, cringing and trying to cover up something that sounded a lot like a sob, though he would never admit it. Naia quickly skidded to a stop. She turned around and ran back, slinging one of his arms over her shoulders. Johanna, who had previously been at the back of the group, holstered her gun and grabbed his other arm, keeping one of her hands pressed to the large wound on his side.

 _The burns aren't healing well_ , Naia thought internally. _Johanna, can you—_

Right. **No powers.**

"Johanna!" she panted out loud as they ran. "W—which way are we headed?!"

"N—North E—East! Th—that way!" she responded, pointing off to Naia's left.

They veered left. The guards were a good distance behind them, but Naia wasn't taking any chances. A branch snapped in her eyes, another on her leg. Something whipped her face. Everything dulled out. The pain. The sound. The sight. She didn't know how long they ran blindly before someone grabbed the back of her shirt collar roughly and choked her backwards. Naia gasped in surprise, falling backwards and landing on top of Daniel roughly.

"Wh—what the hell?!" Naia gagged, her own voice was a dull ache in her head. She coughed in between her words.

Daniel was taking in large gulps of air—Naia didn't know if it was from the running, or the injuries, or her landing on top of him, or all of the above—but he raised a hand and pointed it over her shoulder. She lifted her head off of his chest and saw a cargo train whizzing by.

Slowly, everything tuned back in and the speedy rumbling of the train screeched into her ears.

That was close. She almost ran straight into it, and dragged her frien—the _others_ in with her.

"Huh…" she sighed, still breathing rapidly. She rolled off of Daniel and slowly staggered to her feet. "Are…are you alright?" she asked, breathing between each word and then turning to Daniel and Johanna. Daniel grunted something that resembled 'Never better' and Johanna murmured a 'yea'. The used-to-be-psychic dropped to a crouch next to the used-to-be-godly-boy on the ground. She slowly helped him back onto his feet. Only when they got to their feet did she look back into the forest. She froze when she saw the tiny red dots that represented the guns the guards used.

"Why aren't they firing?" Johanna asked quietly as the three regrouped. She paused before saying "…maybe we're not important enough?"

Naia narrowed her eyes, glaring at the men in the forest. "Or we're _too_ important to someone's plans to kill."

"Does it matter?" Daniel snapped weakly. Johanna trotted over and pressed her sleeve to the crimson red river flowing from his side. " _Tch_ " the injured teen hissed, "Either they're aiming their sniping rifles, or they're –ugh – or they're calling for someone else to come pick us up, corner us."

"Then may I suggest we get out of here?" Johanna inquired, wiping the cold sweat from her brow.

"Hm." Naia nodded once. It only took a moment, though a slow moment, to get an idea. She eyed the train rumbling along speedily. Johanna and Daniel seemed to catch on.

"Only you would…" sighed Johanna, shaking her head and giving an 'oh _God_ ' expression. At the same time, Daniel muttered "Only her…" under his breath.

"Only me," Naia breathed with a smirk. "Right…" she caught her breath and managed to get it under control. "Let's go."

The three picked up into a light trot. It escalated into a limping jog. Soon it was a stumbling run. Then it was a staggering sprint. Their breaths picked up again, sweat returning to their foreheads. Daniel growled through gritted teeth. Johanna let out an angry snarl. Naia shouted loudly, drawing it out into a battle cry when they reached and opened the boxcar door. She veered herself to the side, throwing herself at the train and jumping all at once.

She landed on the wooden floor, exhaling sharply. Sucking all of her energy from pure adrenaline, she swiftly got to her feet and ran back to the entrance. One hand clinging to the giant door frame, she swooped her body outwards, feet remaining inside the train car but upper half of her body out. She reached out her hand and Daniel took it gratefully, appearing to be on his last leg. He jumped and Johanna helpfully shoved him as he shifted to the side. Naia yanked him in. She didn't let herself worry about how he landed, instead focusing on Johanna.

Naia stuck her hand back out and Johanna reached for it. She missed once. Swiped again, and missed. Naia ducked down some more, her knuckles white from holding onto the boxcar edge. Johanna leapt and their hands locked. The wind carried Johanna roughly into the side of the car, where she jerked violently.

Johanna had been with her for the past 3 months. She'd been through Hell all over again, but Johanna had been there. Johanna'd been there to keep her company when Daniel was getting experiment on in that facility, and she was alone. Johanna was her _friend_ now.

Naia let out one last adrenaline-filled yell and whipped Johanna into the car. Johanna rolled a bit before ramming into the opposite wall, where there was a closed door. Naia allowed herself to fall backwards and scooted away from the open door, gasping in exhaustion.

Daniel was to her left, and Johanna was on his left. The three sat facing the open door and watching forests go by. Daniel's wound still bled and his shoulders were hunched slightly from the cold. Their rapid breaths showed as cold smoke in the air.

It was silent apart from the rattling train on its tracks, the occasional whistle and the heavy breaths coming from the teens. Naia quietly crawled over to Daniel and curled up on his right side, tearing a large piece from her already shredded shirt, folding it and pressing it to the wound. He gasped, but managed to stop himself from flinching, instead wrapping his muscular arm around her.

Johanna dragged herself over tiredly, leaning on his other side. She as well was welcomed by a muscular arm, though this time it was his left, and instead of a caring side-hug for your lover, it was a comforting brotherly hug. She was asleep almost instantly. Naia could barely hear her soft breaths, like quiet music in the silent wind.

They continued to stare out into the wilderness. Occasionally there was a tunnel that sent a loud booming echo through the car.

Eventually, when the cloth soaked through with blood, Naia dragged herself to her feet. She was basically the dead walking, although she didn't complain. It was for Daniel, she could handle it. The car they were in was empty, but Naia would bet a million that they all couldn't be.

She turned and looked to her left, spotting a human sized door, opposed to the other two giant doors leading outside.

"I'll be back," she stated in a quiet voice. Daniel gave a tired nod. She walked over, her shredded shoes creaking the wooden floor. Naia crouched down next to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He looked at her and gave a lazy smile. "'bout time." He whispered. "Get some sleep." She commanded faintly.

Daniel gave a last nod before closing his eyes. With that, he was out.

Naia stood up, gazing at Johanna and Daniel one last time before her eyes lay back upon his bleeding wound. That brought her back. Her eyes set in stone and she turned, marching over to the smaller door and pulled it hard. It didn't budge. She angled herself, aiming a kick. The action snapped the lock off and she braced herself before opening it.

A thick wind entered but she pushed her way through it and closed the door behind her. She now stood on a small platform attached to the car. In front of her lay another car, connected to the current one by a large metal hook. Another platform awaited her on that car.

A small leap and she was there. She rammed into that door and it popped open, revealing a large number of decently sized crates. Naia got to work opening them. Clothes. All clothes. No water. No food. But clothes would do for now. She grabbed a few choices for herself, a few for Johanna, quite a few for Daniel because she didn't know his size, and a few extras to use as bandages.

Leaping in an unbalanced manor back to her group's boxcar, she tugged the door open and entered. Johanna and Daniel awakened instantly at the sound of the door slamming shut from the wind. Naia flinched at it herself. Johanna whipped out her Glock on instinct, pointing it at Naia, while Daniel held up his fists defensively. They both softened when they realized it was her.

"Sorry," she apologized, pacing over to them.

"Don't be," Johanna acknowledged.

"A helluva lot better you than one of the scientists…" murmured Daniel.

Naia gave a small smile and jogged over, wobbling a bit from the movement of the train. She set down the pile of clothing on the floor.

"Here," she said, handing a flannel to Johanna. "Press it to the wound."

Johanna didn't show any sign of agreement, instead setting it there and pressing Daniel's hand to it. Naia furrowed her brows before realizing that Johanna was beginning to rip up two more shirts to form a more permanent bandage.

"Try to fall back asleep," Johanna suggested, gently applying more pressure to the wound. Daniel cringed before consenting and nodding off.

Once Johanna seemed positive he was asleep, she peered up at Naia with widened brown eyes.

"What?" Naia's brow creased with worry. "What is it?!" she whisper-shouted when Johanna didn't respond.

"Okay…I'm no doctor…but…" Johanna removed the makeshift bandage as gently as she good, but Daniel still tensed in his sleep. Naia tried not to recoil at what she saw. Lightened sickly looking veins spread out around the injury. The injury itself was a series of deep gashes carved out of a used-to-be minor burn injury. It was severely discolored, and his entire lower torso was pale. It was still bleeding more than Naia thought possible. Johanna quickly recovered it.

"I think it's infected," the past-maid stated.

"You think so?!" Naia gritted through her teeth, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. She ran a hand through her hair. "It's a fucking _zombie bite!"_ she hissed.

Johanna frowned, not daring to speak and anger Naia more. She wasn't under Stefans' control anymore, but Naia had saved her life. She owed it to her.

"Okay…okay…" huffed Naia, trying to regain her composure. She took a deep breath through her nose. "Help me get him in a shirt. Better infected than infected and freezing."

Johanna admired that. Neither of them would admit to it, but Johanna knew close. Closer than most at least. Some would think she'd feel like a third wheel, but she didn't. Naia had become like a sister to her in a mere 3 months. Daniel had become a brother. It was good. They were happy. She was happy to be free of Stefans.

The girls finished and Naia stood up once again. She walked over to the boxcar door and grunted as she grabbed the handle and tugged it closed.

"Don't need anyone seeing us in here," she said, really just to herself.

"I'll take first shift."

Naia didn't argue, instead blindly walking in the now pitch black room over to Daniel and Johanna. She curled up back in her place at Daniel's side.

"Johanna?"

"Mhm?"

"I know what we have to do."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Caldwell Estate – Malone, New York_

Kris strode up to massive black iron gates awaiting him infront of the even larger mansion behind it. Behind him, Aeron strutted with Killer at her side. They formed a triangle: Aeron on his left, Killer on his right. Two men awaited him the gate.

The first stepped forwards, holding up his hand, "Sir, we're going to have to ask you too—"

Kris rolled his eyes. "Do shut up." He stated, glaring past the man's blacked out sunglasses and into his eyes. The man complied without hesitation, his mouth snapping shut. He reached up, feeling his own lips with a 'what the hell?!' expression.

"What's the matter with you?" the second guy barked, bounding over. The first looked at him pleadingly, pulling and prodding at his own face. "What the f—?"

Kris cut him off with a look. "Watch your language." He ordered. "There are children around." He shot a hand at Killer.

"Fuck _off_ ," the girl snarled back.

"Kindly leave and _never_ return," Kris casted upon the two men. They nodded once in unison, blank-eyed. Then they turned, walked over to the one vehicle parked outside of the gate and drove off.

"Aeron, darling, do you mind?" Kris asked politely, turning to his girlfriend.

"Of course, my love," Aeron replied, a seductive smile creeping onto her face. Kris returned the gesture.

Killer opened her mouth, sticking a finger in and making a gagging noise.

Kris smirked while Aeron scoffed. She lifted her hand and pointed it towards the gate. Creaking metal was followed by the lock on the gate flying off over Kris and Killer's heads. The gates flew open with a second wave of Aeron's hand.

They walked without trouble up the driveway and to the front doors. They were large and glass with a wooden framing.

The trio was greeted by an older woman (probably in her 50s) in a tight pencil skirt, blouse and business jacket. Behind the woman, a handmaid stood that was clasping a necklace around her neck. Both froze and turned towards the three with bewildered looks upon their faces.

"What on Earth? How did you get in here?" the older woman demanded.

"We let ourselves in," Kris said in a bored monotone.

"Let yourselves—who are you?!" the now-enraged woman growled.

"None of your concern," interrupted Aeron, taking a step forwards.

"Might I ask who lives here?" Kris cooed, looking into the woman's bright blue eyes.

The woman froze, locking gazes and practically turning into a lifeless doll. _An_ _old_ _doll_. He noted mentally.

"My husband." She stated lifelessly. "My two daughters. My two maids. My cook. My butler."

"Madame?" the maid standing behind her addressed, looking fearfully at the woman's blank eyes.

"You," Kris pointed at the woman. "What are your daughters names? Your husband's name?"

"Victoria Caldwell. Serastine Caldwell. Lennox Caldwell."

"Summon them."

The maid looked at him with a scared expression, "Mada—"

"Silence!" He barked. She silenced. Aeron snapped her gaze to him. He cleared his throat, adjusting his tie. "Silence." He repeated, calmer this time.

"Victoria! Sara! Len!" the woman called. She used a loving motherly tone, but didn't move from her stiff statue position.

"Yes dear?!" "Coming mom!" and "Be right there!" echoed through the house.

A man and two teenagers rounded a corner at the top of the staircase. The man wore an expensive looking business suit, and was currently buttoning the top-most button, while the two girls were dressed in school uniforms that had been decked out with jewelry.

"M—mom? Who's that?" the younger girl paused halfway down the steps and looked with wide eyes at Kris. Her halt caught the attention of both the father and the older sister.

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded.

"I am Incubus. This is Aeron and Killer," Kris replied with a smirk.

The father grabbed his daughters' shoulders at the name 'Killer'.

"Vic, Sara, get behind me," he ordered.

"Oh how _touching_ ," Kris sing-songed. "Mr. Caldwell," he addressed. "Take your daughters and your wife and _leave_." Caldwell's eyes went blank and he grabbed both of his daughters' arms, dragging them down the stairs.

"Daddy! Stop! Ow!" the younger one exclaimed.

Kris grabbed the two before they got out the door; he looked into the younger one's eyes before turning to the other girl and glaring into her dark orbs. "Don't give your father any trouble. Everything is fine. You're not scared. You're a doll. Doll's don't speak. Dolls don't _whine_. Dolls look _pretty_. Now do it."

The two calmed instantly, tear stains forgotten. Instead they plastered small smiles on their faces and blinked up at him. The father grabbed them again and pulled them towards the door.

"Oh! And one more thing!" Kris sung, spinning on his heel and facing the family that was standing in the doorway. "If the police or anyone _ever_ ask about us, or mention us, or want to meet us, you don't remember our names, you don't remember what we look like, and you don't remember where your house is. In fact, if that happens, you can't remember your own names. You don't know who you are. All you know is that you _hate_ S.H.I.E.L.D. and _the Challengers_. Whenever you hear that name 'the Challengers' you will _attack_ them, and keep _attacking_ them until they are _dead_." He paused, finally deciding if he was finished. "That is all."

The family exited and he turned back to come face to face with Aeron and Killer.

For a split second Kris worried that he had gone off the deep end, that Aeron would betray him. But then.

"Well then." Aeron stood up a bit straighter, fixing her hair. "I'm going to go pick out my room. Faith?"

Killer nodded once and began up the stairs. As soon as her back turned, Aeron brought Kris into a kiss. It finished and Kris smirked.

"Well then." He mocked.

Aeron scoffed and turned, heading up the stairs.

Kris turned his head to see the maid quivering and staring at him with wide eyes.

"Oh please," Kris sneered. "What're you looking at?" she went into a daze. "Go find the cook, the other maid and the butler, and bring them to me. Then get back to work."

He stopped briefly.

"Then unpack the car we left out front and bring everything to _me_ in _my_ office."

"Yes sir."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Kris's New Office – Caldwell Mansion_

"You actually did something. Wow. I'm impressed."

Kris rolled his eyes at Killer, ignoring her… _fruitful_ …comment.

"Well, yes, since you were _obviously_ struggling to come up with a list yourself."

"Whatever."

"As you were saying?" Aeron sighed.

"Ah yes," Kris clapped his hands together. "We now have the upper hand."

Aeron's eyebrows rose, "And how is that?"

Killer puckered her lips. "You do realize that we're in a _stolen_ mansion, on the run from a team of _superhumans_ , with no resources or artillery, correct?"

A maniacal grin found its way to the young man's face.

"Yes. I do. But we have—and have had for a while now—a man on the inside."

 **Ta da! We finished at 3,504 words! Not bad, if I do say so myself. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this little prologue!**

 **So, there's certainly been some character development in the past few months, huh?**

 **Kris is a bit more violent, it seems. Maybe a little frantic about losing his first controlled team? Oh, and what about DANAIA AND JOHANNA!? THERE ARE SO MANY FREAKING QUESTIONS!**

 **What the heck happened to them?! Is Daniel gonna be okay?! What's Naia's plan?! Where does she want to go?! Where do you guys think they were? Who in the world was chasing them!? HAS THE DANAIA SHIP SAILED!?**

 **Let me know what you thought of this prologue and all of its content. :) VIA REVIEW! (we have those again!)**

 **By the way, sorry for the long wait.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **AsgardianGrizzly**


	2. They're Coming

Chapter 1 –

 **Ah. New story. New opportunities. So nice.**

 **For those of you who were wondering: I was actually planning on posting this at the beginning of the week, but I got sick (as in eyes burning/headaches when I looked at a screen), which obviously put a dent in my writing. SO I hand wrote ideas and this is what happened. :D**

 **AGAIN: Not many changes in this chapter, but the next will be BRAND SPANKING NEW. Super excited.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own AoS or the Playground, they belong to Marvel. I also do not own any of these lovely darlings (or darklings such as Kris). They belong to the lovely submitters. I only own Tamashi and Johanna. :)**

 **WARNING: Angered OCs = Swearing quite a bit.**

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

3 MONTHS AFTER CHILDREN OF HYDRA (PRESENT TIME)

Piper shrieked at the large muscular man that was running at her.

"Who are these guys?" she cawed over to Lachlan, who was fighting his own brute of a man.

"Director called them 'the Wrecking Crew'!" Lachlan replied, punching the giant African American man in the face. He clutched a giant metal ball connected to the end of a chain. Pat was clinging around his neck, muscles tense, trying to get him to pass out in a chokehold. The Challengers had forbidden her from killing anyone unless given permission, to which she had reluctantly agreed.

They'd joined in teams of two or three to take down this… _Wrecking Crew_. It was Lachlan and Pat, Piper and Marie, Tamashi, Spencer and Eleanor and finally Annaleise, Skylier and Victor.

"I am _Thunderball_!" the man barked into Lachlan's face, spraying saliva all over it.

"That's an extremely unfortunate name!" Spencer quipped and he ran by, a giant crowbar in his hands.

"Give that back you little twerp!" Spencer and Tamashi's boulder headed brute—he'd claimed his name was Wrecker—chased after Spencer determinedly, Tamashi silently trailing at his heels in a full sprint. One of the giant man's steps was equivalent to three or four of Tamashi or Spencer's.

Pat snickered from her place around Thunderball's neck. "Heh, thunder _balls_."

"You're all so immature, it's almost unbelievable," Victor smiled lightly and shook his head as he fired his I.C.E.R. at another member of the crew, known as Piledriver. The man had massive fists and a nasty haircut. Piledriver flinched before continuing to run at Victor.

Victor cursed before ducking under his legs and receiving a quick hand up from Annaleise. Annaleise had pulled out her intricately decorated _flaming_ katana, and was threateningly waving it at Piledriver. She too had been given the 'no killing' rule. Marie turned her attention away from Piper and her man (he said his name was Bulldozer) and jumped over Victor, who ducked just in time, then shoved her hands forwards, palms out. Piledriver went flying, skidding across the asphalt. Skylier kicked him in the face when he halted, and then stuck her hand into his head, knocking him unconscious.

"OI!"

Piper turned back around only to get whipped across the face by a massive metal fist.

Piper jerked around before catching her footing. She stood back up and sung to the man, giving him a full on performance. He went flying from the sound waves, propelling into Thunderball.

Lachlan startled when his opponent was tackled to the ground by Piper's enemy (Bulldozer). He remained in the same position he had been while fighting Thunderball. Pat released and landed in front of the Symbiote Wearer.

She chuckled again when she landed. "You alright there, Anguish? Looking a little startled."

"What—I—no," Lachlan unfroze, adjusting an invisible shirt and tie. "Come on, we're supposed to be fighting." He smirked under his organic mask.

Pat laughed as she bounced away, leaving to help Spencer, Marie and Tamashi with Wrecker. Lachlan followed closely. Skylier finished up Thunderball and Piledriver, jabbing her hands into their heads, before jogging to catch up.

Spencer had made a force-field around himself and held his hands up, brow creased in concentration, as Wrecker repeatedly slammed his giant crowbar into the invisible orb with one hand. With his other massive hand he swatted at Tamashi, who was teleporting repeatedly around Wrecker's body. Eleanor was blasting a continuous beam at Wrecker's back, and his shirt had already been burned into shreds. Now he was swatting at her too. The Challengers formed a circle around them.

Marie flipped her hands upwards and Wrecker's crowbar flew out of his hand.

"What the—?"

The telekinetic smirked as she tossed it to the side.

"You brat!" Wrecker snarled, swinging a meaty hand at her.

Tamashi teleported, grabbing Marie and teleporting out of reach just before Wrecker's fist slammed into the concrete. "Hey!" Wrecker growled.

"Hi!" Pat waved, jumping up and roundhouse kicking him across the face.

Wrecker looked like a man that had just drunk a bar. He spun around dizzily.

Annaleise jumped in and punched Wrecker in the stomach, her super strength gave her a slight upper hand. Victor leapt past her and fired two shots with the I.C.E.R. Wrecker stumbled backwards, but tripped onto his back when Eleanor fired a blast at his feet.

Piper chirped at him, giving another little push to the ground. He was unconscious before Skylier could even start to move.

"Nice job everyone," Victor complimented.

"We've definitely improved," added Lachlan.

"Are you kidding me?!" Pat whooped. " _We kicked their asses!_ "

Piper glanced around at the shell-shocked people, "We should go check on everyone."

Tamashi silently gave his consent, beginning to teleport around.

"You guys got this?" Marie asked, gesturing to everything around them.

Spencer nodded for them all.

The Challengers were broken into two divisions. The first, led by Lachlan, was he, Piper, Spencer, Tamashi, Eleanor and Pat. The originals. They did the brunt of the fighting and spent most of their time racing around the city stopping petty thefts or major threats, depending on the weather. Then there was the other team, led by Victor. That consisted of Marie, Skylier, Victor, Annaleise, Daedre and sometimes Lana. They came in if the team needed backup, if the mission required a certain specific skillset, or if they felt like coming.

At the moment, however, Daedre was on his own mission trying to track down the Syndicate with a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, and Lana was back at the Playground trying to track Kris's location.

The Challengers watched as the Secondary Ops made their way to one of the two Quinjets parked in the massive New York street. They'd been cloaked in invisibility as soon as the group had arrived, but with a click on Victor's watch one of them revealed itself. The ramp lowered and the squad entered.

Piper looked up at the sky as the Quinjet flew off. First it was an enormous jet taking off. Then a birdlike black outline in the clouds. Finally a black dot in the distance, looking like it was heading straight for the lazy orange sun.

"Alright _Commander_ , what's next?" Piper smirked, lightly punching her 'brother's' shoulder.

Last month Lach had been promoted to a S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander. Lots had changed. Piper was in line to be the next Maria Hill "if she played her cards right" as Director Coulson said. Eleanor was a skilled fighter after a newer member of S.H.I.E.L.D., he said his name was Lincoln, had started personally training her. Tamashi's combat skills had excelled greatly after Agent May had begun battling him every other day, although he tended to be sore in the mornings. Meanwhile, Spencer was receiving endless training from Skye. Pat had refused training, saying she got her fill of it back in Hydra.

Piper walked over to an expensive looking car that had narrowly missed crashing into one of the Wrecking Crew. It now sat, car still running, the family gaping out of the windows at the team. The father was driving, the mother in the passenger's and two young girls sitting in the back seats. Both girls were dressed in school uniforms, probably on their way to a university of some sort.

Spencer followed her while Lachlan and Tamashi ventured over to another car, and Pat and Eleanor jogged over to an injured couple. Piper peered into the opened window of the driver's seat.

"Are you alright?" she inquired, Spencer poking his head over her shoulder.

"Yes, thank you," the father seemed a little worse for wear, but nothing serious.

"Is anyone injured?" questioned Spencer as his eyes flashed to the two girls in the backseat.

"No, no, I think we're alright," the mother replied, dusting herself off. "A little startled, but nothing we Caldwells can't handle."

"Alright, drive safe," Piper smiled.

"One moment," the man—Mr. Caldwell?—stuck one finger up before Piper and Spencer could walk away. "What did you say this team was called? The Young Avengers?"

Spencer barked a laugh, Piper elbowed him. "No Sir, we're the Challengers."

The man and his family seemed to freeze.

"Um…Sir?" Piper asked uncertainly.

Spencer reached over her shoulder, posing his hand as to snap in front of the man's eyes. Before he could, however, the man grabbed Spencer's wrist, quick as a fox. Spencer let out a sharp "Hey!", but he didn't get a chance to pull it back. Instead, Mr. Caldwell slammed Spencer's arm down on the door.

"Hey!" it was Piper shouting this time. She grabbed at the man's stone cold grip around Spencer's wrist. "Sir?! What're you doing?!" she demanded.

He slammed down Spencer's wrist again. Meanwhile, the rest of the family was flooding out of the car and the rest of the Challengers were running over in concern. Piper held the man's arm up, stopping him from slamming Spencer's already bruised wrist down again. Spencer tried to claw his hand free, but the man yanked him forwards instead. Spencer and Piper both grunted as Mr. Caldwell opened his door harshly, smacking it into both of the heroes. The edge of the car window hit Piper clean across the forehead, and Spencer tumbled backwards from a blow to the nose.

"Shit!" he cursed, clutching his now bleeding nose.

Mr. Caldwell's family had a new mindset it seemed. The youngest girl, she couldn't be older than 10, appeared to be clawing her way up Tamashi's back as he swatted at her. The oldest girl was screaming at Pat. Pat attempted to grab her from behind, but the girl sunk her teeth into Pat's arm, earning a surprised snarl from Pat. Lachlan was trying to restrain the mother without hurting her, but she was continuously shoving her elbow into his stomach. Eleanor was grabbing at the woman's legs in a feeble attempt to trip her.

Piper looked over to see Spencer running back at the man, force-field protected hand aimed at the man's head.

"Spencer! We can't hurt them! They're civilians!" she shouted.

"Tell them that!" he retorted, still clutching his nose with one hand.

"Just knock them out!" Lachlan ordered, swiftly giving a blow to the mother's head. She crumpled but quickly attempted to get back up.

Eleanor took action and kicked her in the head, sending her to the ground. Now with a bruised cheekbone, the woman continued to dizzily stumble to her feet. Eleanor furrowed her brows and fired a light beam at her, finally knocking her unconscious.

Piper chirped at Mr. Caldwell and he clutched his ears, giving Spencer the opportunity to shove him backwards into the car. His head smacked into the top of the car and he went down like a ragdoll.

The kids were another story. Pat now had a collection of bite and claw marks on her arms, and she looked angry as ever.

"What is wrong with this kid?!" she growled. "I mean, I admire her determination but seriously!"

Spencer and Lachlan ran over and began prying the girl's mouth off of Pat's bloody arm. That was when the girl suddenly reached back and swiped Pat's knife, stabbing it into Pat's chest. The girl smiled victoriously, her eyes blank.

"Damn, if I were normal that would've killed me," Pat said in a disappointed tone. "Lucky for me, I'm not." She added. Now, with her arms freed, she gave the girl a good slap across the face. The girl whipped around and fell to the ground face-down.

"You weren't supposed to hurt them!" Piper scolded, throwing her hands at the girl on the ground.

Pat scoffed, throwing her own hand at Eleanor, "You didn't say anything to Little Miss Sunshine over there! And she threw a whole bottle of Liquid Glow Stick at her!"

Spencer laughed but regretted it when lightheadedness hit him like a brick wall.

"Guys! A hand?!" Lachlan called from where he was trying to gently remove the youngest girl's hands from Tamashi's throat. The girl had somehow managed to grab ahold of Tamashi (probably because he didn't want to hurt her) and drag him to the ground, strangling him with her tiny claws.

"Why isn't he teleporting?!" Pat demanded as they ran over.

"He can't!" Spencer answered, "Otherwise her hands go with!"

"Oh, right."

The team reached Tamashi right as Lachlan began a new approach, trying to lift the girl by the waist. This only made her dig her fingers deeper into Tamashi's throat.

"Not—" Tamashi coughed roughly, shoving at the tiny girl. "—helping!"

"What is this girl on?! And where can I get some?!" Pat laughed in an angry fashion as she grabbed the girl's legs and yanked hard, trying to rip her off Tamashi. At the same time, Piper and Eleanor grabbed the girl's sides and assisted in pulling. All the while, Lachlan remained trying to pry the girl's impossibly strong hands off of the Asian's neck.

"I think she's a Gifted!" Spencer grunted from where he sat behind Tamashi in an attempt to drag him away from the tiny girl.

Tamashi was very near passing out by that time, choking and gasping.

"Well, if she's Super," Lachlan grunted. He slammed his elbow down on her back and she released with a growl.

Feral and untamed, she scrambled away from the heroes. Tamashi inhaled deeply, coughing and sputtering. Spencer patted the Teleporter's back with his right hand while clutching his nose with his left, blood streaming down his arm. He favored his right wrist greatly.

The girl all but pounced at Piper, who instinctively shrieked at her. The young girl flew back into the concrete, instantly out cold.

"Oops," she frowned.

"Hey, we all wanted to," Pat shrugged. Piper felt guilt gnaw at her insides.

"Should we arrest them?" asked Eleanor.

"No, I don't think it was them doing this," argued Piper.

"What do you mean?" the corners of Eleanor's lips dipped downwards.

"Did you see their eyes?"

"As blank as Spencer's homework," Tamashi croaked.

"Hey," Spencer shoved Tamashi in a brotherly fashion.

"You think it was mind control?" offered Pat.

They all said it unison: "Kris."

"Damn straight."

Piper spun around and froze at what lay ahead.

Naia, Daniel and a mysterious black haired girl stood only a few feet away. They appeared to be wearing a pair of fresh clothes over a pair of shredded ones. Blood had soaked through the right side of his shirt. None of them looked great, but that appeared to be the worst wound. The most unusual thing Piper noticed was thick black metal collars clipped tightly around Daniel and Naia's necks.

Everything sped up.

Tamashi jumped to his feet and lunged at Naia. Eleanor fired a long beam of light out of her hands towards them. Piper screamed at all three of them. Pat whipped her katanas out and charged. Spencer stood and shoved his hands forwards, an invisible Naia or Daniel sized wall heading straight for its unknown target.

A thick black tendril of goo wrapped around Tamashi's waist, pinning his arms to his sides and suspending him a couple feet off the ground. Another tightened around Eleanor's wrists and directing them downwards, the beam carving into the concrete. A third clasped over Piper's mouth, causing her to stop shrieking and start coughing. A fourth tripped Pat, sending a now furious Pat to the ground. A final shoved Spencer backwards, sending him sprawled out on his back. Lachlan stood, arms outstretched, tendrils extended from his black symbiote suit.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?!" Tamashi growled, thrashing in a frenzied rage.

"Are you doing this?!" Eleanor snarled at Naia, her usual sweetness missing.

Naia cringed as she raised her hands. "I'm not doing this." She said calmly. Daniel had edged his way in front of her protectively, though Piper doubted he could scare a mouse in his condition. The mysterious third figure had a single gun, held up and pointed at Piper currently, but changing its target every few seconds.

Tamashi narrowed his eyes, " _Liar_. Anguish! Put me down!"

Lachlan shook his head in a distracted manor. "Why would she— _they_ come back?" he inquired to the group.

Piper took a minute.

"Because they're trying to trick us so they can kill us…" Eleanor answered. She turned and looked Naia dead in the eyes. "They're killers. It's what they do."

"La—Anguish, I swear to God! Get your black slug snakes off me or so help me I'll-I'll do something really violent!" Pat snapped, grabbing at the slimy symbiote wrapped around her ankles.

"Listen, we're all in danger. Okay? We need your _help_ ," the mysterious dark haired girl hissed, waving her Glock around. "And we—"

"Who are you anyways?!" Spencer interrupted.

"What relation do you have to this devil?" Tamashi demanded, nodding his head at Naia.

"Watch your tongue, _Kitana_ ," retorted Daniel. Tamashi gave him furrowed brows and a glare, as if to say 'I have no idea who that is, but I'm sure it was offensive.'

Piper swatted away the goop covering her mouth long enough for a few words to slip out, "What do you mean you're in dange—"

A loud _bang_ split through the air and Naia jerked to the side violently, getting shoved to the cement. She landed roughly on her back and clutched an injury that had appeared just under her shoulder and above her chest. She gritted her teeth and shouted in pain. Lachlan released his friends and they took defensive positions, scanning the area. Spencer put a force-field up around the Challengers. Those few civilians that had decided to remain around the accident and take pictures with their phones scurried and shrieked in fright.

Daniel and the other girl ran to Naia, along with Piper and reluctantly Eleanor, to make sure she was alive.

"We've gotta go," the raven haired girl said.

"Why in the world should we protect you?" Pat growled.

"She's going to _die_ ," Daniel protested through grinding teeth, he scowled up at Pat.

"Firstly, don't scowl. She hates scowling," advised Spencer sarcastically, earning a nod from Pat. "And secondly, we have absolutely no reason to keep you safe. You killed innocent people. You _slaughtered_ our friends. You _murdered_ Drew."

" _Please_ , we'll tell you everything we know," the unnamed girl pleaded, hands covered in Naia's blood from pressing on the wound with her bare hands and her sleeve.

"About what?" asked Tamashi with a bored expression.

"She's dying!" snarled Daniel, gesturing to Naia with both of his bloodied hands. Naia cried out in pain when Raven Hair pressed a bit too hard. "Call for S.H.I.E.L.D. or whatever!"

"Backup takes a few minutes," said Eleanor calmly. "Plenty of time for you to explain yourselves."

"Let's start with the obvious question. Who the hell are you?" inquired Spencer with a raised eyebrow. He crossed his arms and tilted his head at the raven girl.

"I'm Johanna," she replied. "I used to work for Kris—" the entire team simultaneously tensed, as if to pounce. "—but I don't anymore!" she quickly added. "He kidnapped me. Controlled me. Forced me to be his maid. He's _sick_."

"Got that right," scoffed Tamashi.

"I still don't understand. What are you doing back in New York?" interrogated Lachlan, his face explaining that he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Drew's killer was stand—dying in front of him.

"We—we escaped from a facility," explained Johanna hurriedly. "They tortured Danny and Nai for their powers. Then they tortured me just for the fun of it. They are _bad_ people. We came for two reasons."

"One," Daniel stated in a frustrated tone. He looked resenting as he bit out. "Be _careful_. Don't let them catch you. As much as I hate all of you—and I do. Very much so.—giving someone… _anyone_ to them would be _worse_ than killing you. It'd be sentencing you to a lifetime of Hell, even if you're only there for a _week_." He looked up from Naia's now unconscious form, looking straight at Lachlan, and then at Tamashi, continuing to flick his glance between the two. "What we— _Aeron_ did to you back at the mansion? That is _nothing_ compared to what they did to us. _Nothing_."

Lachlan swallowed hard, even their great leader was intimidated by the thought of that. Tamashi swapped his weight back and forth between his two feet, balling his hands into fists, uncomfortable with the memories.

"They want to capture us and _torture_ us," Daniel continued.

" _Us_?" Eleanor squeaked.

"They're not just after the Syndicate," Johanna explained. "This facility…this group…these _killers_ are after _us_." She gestured to the team.

"They're coming for all of us."

 **Woah! WHAT?! Who's coming for them!?**

 **So, who the heck is this organization!? And what do they want with our Powerpuff Girls and Guys?!**

 **And guess what?! We have reviews again! Yay! Please drop a review, even if its not about the chapter (for old readers) let me know what you think of this story's return. :)**

 **Love y'all!**

 **-AsgardianGrizzly**


	3. Stone Cold

Chapter 2-

 **Guess who's back? Back again. Grizzly's back. Tell a friend.**

 **Quoting Eminem there.** _ **Anyways**_ **, should we get to the real reason that you've all gathered here? We will indeed. Here's a BRAND NEW CHAPTER!**

 **So, will Daniel survive?! Will Naia survive?! Will** _ **anyone**_ **survive?! Who knows? Well…I mean…you will by the end of the chapter *smiles mischievously*. Let's get right to it.**

 **Also, fun fact: This series is 261 pages long (this is before I write the chapter) and 93,000 words! INSANE! Thanks for sticking with me throughout this crazy journey! :D**

 **Thanks for all the reviews! You all are too sweet. :)**

 **Warning: Naia's got a potty mouth. X)**

 **Now then, shall we?**

 _Caldwell Estate – Malone, New York_

 _2 Hours Ago_

Pat's fingers tingled anxiously.

He was a mile away.

The bastard was _only a mile away._

She gripped her knives tightly, knuckles white and tense, bouncing on her heels in excitement.

Skylier and Eleanor bordered her sides, in the left and right backseats of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Issue SUV they were in. Eleanor's hands were glowing violently, like brightly lit lanterns. Skylier held a larger gun, a black GC63 rifle, loaded and ready to go. The two were narrow eyed, eyes fixed on something unseen out of their windows.

They—and a massive team of S.H.I.E.L.D. specialists, including the Challengers and most of Coulson's team—listened intently into the communication devices in each of their earpieces. The entire massive group was headed in the same direction: the Caldwell Estate.

Earlier that day, they had discovered that the Caldwells (the family that had attacked the Challengers) had no memory of who they were, who had sent them, where they had lived or really anything about themselves. Although Pat would never say it out loud, thanks to _S.H.I.E.L.D._ , they'd managed to track down (via facial scan) the name of the family and their current living space.

It was called Caldwell Estate, a massive mansion with a long history, and an elegant appearance, right up Stefans' alley. Finally, they were going to get this mind controlling lunatic. He was crazy. Power crazy. Insane. Violent. Dangerous. Now that she thought about it, they were actually really similar. Who knows? Maybe they could be a _thing_ in another life. Not this one though. Maybe, _maybe_ , that would've worked out.

But he had tortured Lachlan and Tamashi.

That was her team. He had tortured Lachlan and Tamashi. Tricked Piper. _His team had killed Drew_. Maybe, just _maybe_ , they could have been a thing. But not after that. Not after he had tormented Pat's friends. Her family. That was not allowed. That was _not_ going to happen. Not on her watch.

So now she was off for some revenge. Some beautiful revenge. Like a cheese and jelly sandwich: delicious in every way shape or form. She clicked the 'talk' button on her earpiece.

"Death to Challengers. Everyone excited?" she smirked.

"Major understatement," Spencer's voice crackled back.

"I hope he dies." Eleanor said, static wiring her voice.

"He's going to die. Director gave us permission to use force if he tries to resist." Piper reminded. "And he will."

"We're going to kill someone today." Tamashi announced. Some might say they heard a slight waver of uncertainty. Pat would disagree.

Pat sighed, "You guys don't have to do this if you don't want to. I mean, I know you _want_ to, but this isn't going to leave you. The guilt of taking someone's life. Killing someone is a lot harder mentally than physically."

" _Death_ said," Spencer joked half-heartedly.

"Everyone get ready. We're coming up on the Rendezvous," exclaimed Lachlan.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Challengers Meeting Room_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

 _PRESENT TIME_

"Pat nearly sliced off Victor's head when we got back," sighed Eleanor.

"That bad, huh?" came Daedre's voice over the video chat.

He was off somewhere, probably halfway across the world. Eleanor understood why. Emma. Well, Emma, Rebecca, Dragunov, Vandella. They'd gone missing. No one knew where. That's what Daedre was doing, trying to track them down and bring them back safe (even if they were going straight to prison).

The alien appeared to be in some sort of Humvee, swaying with the vehicle's movements. She could see it was really late where he was, which was the opposite of where she was (thus the theory of him being somewhere in Asia).

"What event took place afterwards? After you arrived at the 'Caldwell Mansion'," asked Daedre in interest. He blinked his bright yellow eyes at her, like a curious little boy.

"Right…" Eleanor began explaining, the memory flashing back to her.

 _They pulled up to the mansion, the Challengers tensed and ready to attack. They all nearly collapsed at what they found. Asian and American curses threaded over the line loudly. Pat had stabbed her katana into the door of the Humvee. Eleanor had accidentally blacked out the system._

 _The entire mansion was nothing more than a smoking mass of debris._

"It was gone?" demanded Daedre, his eyebrows furrowing. "How is that possible?"

Eleanor looked down at her pink tennis shoes. "Lachlan says he thinks that Kris kicked out the family, made us think that he was there, and there was a bomb set to go off on a timer. One of our wheels—on Skye's Humvee—popped, so we had to stop and fix it. Lachlan thinks that we took longer than expected, and the bomb went off before we got there."

Eleanor frowned. She had been looking forwards to killing—no. That was wrong. She hadn't been looking forwards to killing Kris. She had been looking forwards to ending it. To ending all of this stress with him. He had caused the team to much pain. Daedre seemed to notice her sudden mood swing.

"Is there any more cheerful news that you have acquired?"

Eleanor looked back up at the screen at Daedre's soft smile. She returned a happy grin.

"Yea, actually, I have some very interesting gossip."

" _Gossip_?" Daedre's eyebrow rose questionably.

"Oh, it's uh, it's like facts…about people…that might be true, or might be lies, but you don't know," the glowing girl reiterated.

"Subterfuge then?"

"Um…yea…kinda…" Eleanor shrugged. "Okay, so," she leaned in, dropping her voice to a whisper. She was in a sound-proofed room, but this was S.H.I.E.L.D...So she wasn't counting on privacy. "I think Tamashi and Marie are…a thing…"

"A thing?" Daedre was lost again.

"You know…a _thing_ …"

He titled his head. "Is it an object? Or rather a figurative term?"

"Oh boy…" muttered the younger girl. "I think that they're dating."

Daedre went stock still, but quickly recovered. "Are you implying that they have begun to show emotion towards each other romantically? Or are you suggesting that they have started creating a new generation of your race?"

Eleanor furrowed her own brows. What did that—oh. OH. Her eyes widened to two large saucers. "No! No no no! Not like that! Daedre! No!" Daedre appeared startled, taken aback by Eleanor's sudden outburst. "Tamashi's 16! And Marie's like one year older than me!"

"Have I miscalculated an assumption?"

Eleanor nodded furiously.

"Apologies then—"

She crossed her arms and gave another nod.

"But on my planet it is not uncommon to—"

Eleanor gave a childish scowl. "No! I don't want that! No thank you!"

Daedre laughed a bit. "Then perhaps you will continue to inform me on the wellbeing of our teammates?"

"Yea, yea, don't get your Alien undies in a twist," Eleanor beamed. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "And please, for the love of S.H.I.E.L.D., don't ever say anything like that again."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _S.H.I.E.L.D. Hospital Room 103_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Victor scanned the room. He, Annaleise, Lana, Coulson and May had taken the task of interrogating the possibly-ex-villains, and hearing them out.

Naia had been strapped down to a hospital bed, so the proper care could be administered without interruption. Daniel had been heavily sedated, and currently resided in that state. The third—Johanna?—had also been tended to, although she had been given a friendly pair of handcuffs. The two powered still had those unusual collars on.

"I told you," Naia growled, throwing another angry but concerned look at the white haired boy in the other hospital bed. "We don't work for Kris anymore. You should _know_ that." Lana stood at her side, taking vitals and—much to Victor's pride—not showing a single fear to the dangerous teens.

"I'm sorry—actually, no im really not—when I say that I don't believe you," sighed Annaleise from where she stood, arms crossed, leaning on one of the walls. Her flaming katana had been extinguished, and sat silently in its sheath.

"And why the hell not?!" snarled Naia. "We're telling the freaking truth!"

"Naia," Johanna warned, earning a glare filled with knives. She turned back to the heroes. "Listen to me—" Victor looked at her with a raised conspicuous eyebrow. "—I'll say it again. After Kris left us to _die_ , we were going to vanish—"

"We wouldn't have to see you, you wouldn't have to see _us_ ," chimed Naia.

"—But we were abducted when we checked into our hotel," Johanna explained calmly. She shifted uncomfortably, pulling at her cuffed wrists in discomfort. Lana walked over, finishing up with Naia, and began looking her over. "They took us to this…place…"

Coulson spoke up from where he was standing near the doorway. "Hydra?" he inquired.

"No…" Naia said uneasily. "Something else…They were worse. Much worse."

"Worse?" May snapped. Her glare sending chills down even Victor's spine. "From what I hear, it doesn't get much worse than Hydra."

"Until now," Naia retorted, doing her best to return May's heartless eyes. The two's glare-off sent unease wafting through the air like a cancer.

Johanna continued with slight displeasure. She looked off, somewhere they couldn't see. "For the first month they lock you in a room. That's it. You just sit in a room. Alone. For a month. Food comes out of this shoot in the wall, bread mainly, and sometimes water. It just kinda comes out of the wall, and you have to be ready, otherwise you have to lick the water off the ground like some sort of _dog_." Johanna's eyes narrowed to slits and she spoke the word like it poisoned her tongue. "Then, for the second month, they open the door and take you outside. They held us outside, let us see the sun, for _one_ minute, and then brought us back into those _putrid_ rooms."

"After that," Naia continued distastefully. "We were tortured. Running mazes during the day, and then tested on at night. For three fucking months we were tortured! You start to lose track of time. They burn you, and cut you, and shoot you, and electrocute you, and it _sucks!_ " she growled loudly. "Now," she spoke through gritted teeth. "You can either get us out of these pain-in-the-ass _collars_ , or you can ship us off to another shitty _prison_!" she seethed.

Victor titled his head, remembering his training and not showing any emotion. His emotion was mirrored by all but Annaleise, who couldn't help but shift as she tried to get a read on Naia and Johanna. After no move was made, Johanna spoke up.

She looked directly at Victor, peering into his no-nonsense hazel eyes. "Do you honestly believe we would come back here if we didn't seriously need some help?"

Another long silence. Victor contemplated.

True, they had come to the Challengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. willingly, with their crimes and punishments in mind. Naia had killed Drew, she could've been shot on sight, or more likely Challengers could've mauled her. Daniel had pissed off _all_ of them, and while his consequences wouldn't have been as bad as his appearing girlfriend's, they wouldn't have been a delight.

The one thing that irked the agent was this new woman. Johanna. He went over what he knew so far. There was no blemish on her face, but eyeliner residue was easily identifiable on her right eye, which meant she had—or used to have—some sort of care for her appearance. From what the Challengers had said, she used to work for Kris, so that explained the makeup. He probably had her for pleasure, and maybe work. The ass was pampered, and didn't like getting his hands dirty.

She had quite the tone, but at the same time he almost sensed regret. Either she was conflicting about something, or she didn't know her place (good or bad). She was good with a gun, he'd seen that after S.H.I.E.L.D. had run a facial scan and security footage of her with Naia and Daniel had popped up. On another tape there'd been a man with her, a love interest he was sure, making him wonder what had happened to Romeo. His best guess was that Kris kidnapped her and forced her to work for him.

Now there was the fact that she didn't have one of those heavy metal collars. So, she wasn't super, but she certainly handled herself okay. She had her own collection of scars, but she hadn't whined once, or even winced when Lana had stitched up a gash on her back. She had some self-control, and a lot of pain tolerance.

Had they really been tortured? He supposed they wouldn't have done this to themselves.

He sent Coulson a look. He'd become one of the most trusted agents in the field. The look read: _I trust them_. Coulson returned a separate glance and then a nod.

"Here's what's going to happen," Coulson began out loud, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "You will stay in this room until your recovery. From there, you will be allowed to walk around the facility." May looked at him with the eyes of death. "But your collars will remain on and active." Naia practically growled. "From what we can see, those powers inhibit you from using your powers. That is _very_ helpful." He stopped, looking at them with the eyes he had been chosen as Director for.

Eyes that could strike fear into the bravest man.

A _stone cold_ stare.

"If I find out that you even _slightly_ annoyed one of my agents, you will be brought to Agent May, and the Challengers, and I will not stop whatever they choose to do next."

Johanna threw a weary glance at May, quickly dropping her eyes to the floor when May snapped her gaze to the younger girl's.

"Is that clear?" Coulson demanded.

Naia gave an annoyed nod, while Johanna nodded more respectively.

"Good."

Coulson exited the room and Victor pushed off the wall, following the Director out. Annaleise tagged along, leaving May and Annaleise in the room.

"Sir, with all due respect," Annaleise chirped as soon as the door closed behind them. Coulson turned around and the three formed a triangle in the hallway. "Why would you trust them in here? They could kill someone. Just because they don't have their powers, doesn't mean that they won't attack."

Coulson gave a small smile. "I don't trust them." Victor raised an eyebrow. "While they were under during surgery, I had Agent Fitz and Agent Mackenzie take a look at those collars. We cut any possible resource that suggested someone could be tracking their location, and reversed it. We'll know wherever they are, whenever they are. I have Agent Skye monitoring them 24/7."

Victor felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He really didn't need Naia or Daniel wandering around killing people, and making Pat mad. Pat was not fun when she was mad. He would know.

Annaleise also relaxed. She thanked the Director and asked dismissal. After the younger agent left, Coulson went stern-faced again and turned to Victor.

"Keep an eye on them, Agent Valentine."

"Yes Sir."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Lounge_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Spencer shouted as gunfire filled the room, "Agh! Dude! Help! She's trying to kill me! She's got a freaking machine gun!" Tamashi quickly rushed to his aid, tackling him to the ground. The two ducked behind a large piece of crashed jet wreckage.

"Where did she get that?!" demanded Lachlan loudly, shooting back at the assailant. A bullet entered his chest and he fell backwards onto the dirt. Spencer and Tamashi were quick to his aid.

"No! Lachlan! Stay with me!" Spencer begged, pressing his hands to Lachlan's bleeding chest. "You can't die! You're our leader!"

"Watch out!" Tamashi suddenly roared.

Multiple somethings hit Spencer in the back and he collapsed next to Lachlan. Tamashi fell to the ground next to them, riddled with bullet holes. The three lay there, bleeding out.

"Guess this is the end," coughed Spencer weakly.

"Aw, come on, you Drama Queens! It's just a game!" Skye laughed as ' **GAME OVER** ' flashed on the screen and the stats came up. Spencer sent Skye a smirk, tossing his game controller onto a nearby throw pillow.

"Easy for you to say," Tamashi rolled over onto his back, peering up at the agent. He and Spencer had sprawled out on the floor, in front of the television, while Skye and Lachlan had taken to the couch. "You just mowed us down with a machine gun."

"I call cheats!" accused Lachlan playfully. He closed his eyes and shrugged, like a scientist explaining professional theories. "Obviously, the only reason we lost was because you have way more experience in this game than we do."

Skye beamed. "Oh, uh huh, yea right! I know you play this every free period you have!"

"Rematch!" Spencer cheered, clicking away on the game controller in his hand. The boys (and girl)'s eyes glued to the screen as a new match. "How did you even get Battle Strategy 8? Mack said it hasn't come out yet."

Skye nodded. "I'm not actually sure. I know it hasn't come out yet, but Hunter has some less-legal resources, so here we are."

Spencer frowned at 'less legal' but weighed his options. "Yea, okay, I can live with some black market work. This game is awesome!" he cheered, ducking his character under some jet wreckage and then sniping at Skye.

"I'll be sure to let Slithe know that you like it," Spencer startled, pausing the game and peering up above the sofa. Hunter stood in the kitchen portion of the lounge, a collection of fast food bags in his hands. "Coulson says you earned it." he announced.

"Slithe?" inquired Skye as she got to her feet, the teenage boys scrambled past her, starving from combat training earlier. Skye took a seat at the island in the kitchen, while the boys swarmed the table (Lachlan more composed than the other two).

"An old friend," answered Hunter as he began unpacking food. "Not exactly the nicest bloke, but he's a friend nonetheless."

"For you," the British continued, nodding his head at Spencer. "A double cheeseburger from some place in the city." A bag was thrown at his head, which Spencer slowed using his powers and opened eagerly.

"Coulson knows me well," he hummed as he bit into the burger.

"Crab roll sushi. Tamashi," another bag was flung at the boys, nearly taking off Skye's head. Tamashi grabbed it and teleported—with the food—a few feet to the couch, opening the package hungrily.

"For Lachlan, a slice of New York's finest pizza, or so I'm told," Hunter muttered the last bit. Lachlan caught the bag and hissed something out loud to Anguish, something along the lines of 'I don't care if you don't like it, I do, so we're eating it.'

Spencer had nearly finished by then, and leaned back into his chair appreciatively. "I love Coulson." He smirked, pleased.

Hunter snorted, pulling two beers from the fridge, and handing one to Skye. "Yea well, he didn't go out of his way to get them. Pretty sure he sent an agent down there to get it."

"Then I love that agent," Spencer sighed happily.

"Where're the other two, then?" Hunter asked, sipping his beer and thoughtfully glancing at the last few bags.

"Training," answered Lachlan as he devoured the first slice of pizza (out of the two). "Actually, I think Eleanor is talking to Daedre. Piper and Pat are probably sparring."

An hour of friendly chatting passed.

Spencer spoke of his plan to dye Victor's hair pink. Tamashi explained a movie he and Marie had watched the other night ( _what was up with them, anyways?_ Spencer pondered). Lachlan talked about a new strategy he had devised for their next Training Sim. Hunter told around a dozen stories from his time as a mercenary, while Skye told a few from her days as a hacker.

Over all the evening was genuinely relaxed, but night came and the heroes were exhausted.

"I'm assuming," Spencer yawned. "That Piper and Eleanor turned in for the night."

"Without dinner?" asked Skye.

"Piper said something to me earlier," Tamashi responded, getting up and stretching a bit. "I think Fitz was gonna order a pizza."

"Alright, well you three look like the living dead," scoffed Skye. She was still finishing her beer, while Hunter was on his fifth or…maybe tenth. "Get some sleep. I'll take care of him." She threw a thumb at a slightly drunk Hunter, who was muttering something about it only being 10, and then something else about agents that he fought with in Budapest.

Spencer smirked, but didn't argue. Waving his goodnights, he made his way to the bedroom that he, Lachlan and Tamashi bunked in.

Each dormitory had two or three beds. He, Lachlan and Tamashi took one room. Pat and Victor had another. Eleanor and Piper shared a room down the hall. Marie and Skylier roomed together as well. It was a relaxed room organization, which everyone was happy with. Admittedly, it resembled a great big (slightly more serious) summer camp that Spencer had heard stories about.

He collapsed onto his bed. He'd definitely eaten too much, his stomach protesting every movement he made.

Ah, well, nothing a good night sleep couldn't fix.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Spencer, Tamashi and Lachlan's Dormitory_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

 _Five after Midnight_

Lachlan rolled over, pulling the covers up to his chin as someone forcefully yanked at them.

"Lachlan—!"

Someone was coughing.

But sleep.

Ugh.

He was leader. He should probably get up. What if they needed him?

 _You're cutting into my beauty sleep, Butler_ , hissed Anguish.

"Go'way…" muttered Lachlan. He froze before sleep could overtake him. Hold on. This was his team. His eyes opened in recognition. Sitting up and kicking the sheets down in one quick movement, he quickly spotted the source of trouble.

Spencer was on the ground, coughing and clawing at his stomach. The boy had curled up on himself, clutching his stomach in pain, eyes squeezing shut.

"Spencer?" Lachlan demanded in a shocked tone. He quickly shifted out of bed, kneeling next to his friend. "Talk to me, buddy."

"I—" Spencer coughed. "The— _cough_ —the food." The teen sputtered.

Lachlan's eyes widened. He lifted his head, scanning the room for Tamashi. These boys were his younger brothers. He was more than concerned. Had they been poisoned? Tamashi was nowhere in sight, but the bathroom door was cracked open, light flooding out into the dark room.

"I'll be right back," Lachlan said urgently. Spencer gave a pained nod. Standing, the leader jogged over to the door and opened it. "Holy…" his eyes went wide. They needed help. Now. Right now.

Tamashi was clawing at his neck, eyes shut. He was on his knees in front of the open toilet, probably assuming he was going to be sick. But that wasn't what nearly made Lachlan collapse. Tamashi's skin was stone. As if someone had poured cement over him. This was bad.

Who was closest? Who was most likely to be awake? Thoughts swarmed Lachlan's mind as he ran back to Spencer, trying to figure out how to stop it. Spencer was still clutching his stomach, but his eyes were now open, and he was breathing hard and fast, staring at his curled in legs.

Lachlan fretfully set a hand on his near-brother, trying to calm him down. His breath caught in his throat when his hand met cold stone. All three boys tended to sleep in only boxers and a plain t-shirt, so Lachlan could easily see the cold gray stone as it crept up Spencer's skin, in what seemed to be a very painful process.

But Lachlan couldn't help anymore. He couldn't even speak. Instead he staggered to his feet. It was starting. Sharp pain clutched his stomach suddenly. He tumbled back to his knees, hunching over and wrapping both arms around his own stomach. Spencer looked at him pitifully from across the room. The two met eyes as stone overtook Spencer, his eyes solidifying into cold stone.

Lachlan grunted, it felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly. Anguish was going wild, shrieking at him and demanding to know what was going on. Pat. Pat was the closest. The room next door.

" _Pat_!" he growled through gritted teeth. "Pat! Get in here!"

Another stinging pain ran through his entire form and Lachlan fell onto his side, mimicking the position Spencer was in. It was unbearable. It felt like his organs were trying to claw their way out from the inside. And then, suddenly he couldn't breathe. He felt his lungs lock and his throat tighten.

He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

Lachlan let out one last pained shout as everything went dark.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Unknown Location_

"It's done." The voice echoed from the other side of the phone line.

Kris felt a wicked smile form on his features.

"And it was a success?" he purred.

"Yes Sir. For all but the girls."

"We will take care of them later. And how has your time in S.H.I.E.L.D. been?"

"Boring," admitted the voice. "But it has its moments."

"This will be your second team, correct?"

"Yes Sir. Second and counting." There was a pause. "If you don't mind me asking, Sir, how did you survive? I read the report, it said you blew up."

"Does it?" Kris chuckled. "No of course not. In case you didn't notice, I think my plans through _very_ thoroughly. There is a bunker beneath the Caldwell's estate. Mr. Caldwell designed it in case of attempted assassination, if I understand correctly. It is like a whole new mansion in itself."

"You're underground, Sir?"

"Indeed. Now then, thank you for checking in, but you should resume your duties undercover. We don't need your cover getting blown, now do we?"

"No Sir. Always a pleasure."

"You to. Update me when the girls are gone."

"Of course, Sir."

 **Dun Dun Dun! Well?! How's that for a comeback!? WOO! We finished at a whopping 4,328 words!**

 **You didn't really think the Challengers could just have a normal day, did you? So, I'm sure there's tons of questions. XD Let's clear things up:**

 **Way back there in a beginning, the Challengers attempted to kill Kris, however the mansion he was supposedly hiding in (Caldwell Mansion) was blown up! They don't know where he is (its later revealed he's underneath the blown up mansion, hiding in plain sight).**

 **Eleanor and Daedre chat, continuing the long going question of do Marie and Tamashi have a thing in this chapter? (I had so much fun with Daedre in that scene XD)**

 **We got to see into Victor's head, which I totally Sherlocked. XD Also, Danaiana joined the good guys?! What?!**

 **Did I scare you guys with Lachlan, Spencer and Tamashi's fake deaths in the game? XD**

 **Dinner is served to the boys, but alas it is POISONED! Or…stone-poisoned? Yea, I know, I'm crazy (maniacal laugh), I totally just turned them to stone. And then the traitor is introduced! WHO IS IT?!**

 **I'd love to know who you guys think it is!**

 **X) Thank you thank you thank you all for your kind reviews! You're all so sweet! :D Please let me know how I did with your characters! And your theories and ships and all that good stuff! Till next time!**

 **-AG :)**


	4. Nightmares and Marigolds

Chapter 3-

 ***blushes* You all spoil me. Seriously. Your reviews are just so kind. ;)**

 **Now then, let's get back to the matter at hand. Tons of chaos in this chapter! :D**

 **I love a good request, and I actually received a couple for this chapter (which I tried to include). On the topic of requests, Children of Spoof is sort of a side project, so I'll update it whenever I've got spare time, just for any of you who were interested. :)**

 **As for my later update: sorry for that, guys. I got swamped in homework and life. Outside Life just doesn't seem to understand that I have Fanfiction to write. XD**

 **Okay, okay, here we go. Shall we? :)**

 **Warning: Slightly graphic descriptions, horror themes, and—as always—some language involved. :)**

 **Ps. GUYS THIS SERIES IS AT 277 PAGES!**

 _S.H.I.E.L.D. Hospital Room 103_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

 _1 AM_

Another scream filled the tiled hallway. The place was like an insane asylum: pristine, white tile, patients in strait jackets getting led down the halls, attempted-to-be-cleaned blood stains on the walls and floors. Naia couldn't take this. She was in a cell. Alone. With only the shrieks of wounded patients to accompany her.

Another wail infiltrated her ears, and for a split second she considered ripping them off. A nearly silent grinding sound filled the air and she crawled like a dog over to where a slot was opening in the off-white tile walls.

Pressing as close as she could, the psychic held out her hands and, a few seconds later, a tiny stale loaf of bread came skittering down the metal chute inside of the wall, popping out into her greedy dry fingers. Hastily setting the bread to the side, she pressed her face up next to the shoot as water was poured down from the other side.

The water was dirty, and tasted like it had sat out in a cup on the table abandoned for a good long time. Naia didn't care. She drank thirstily as it flowed out of the chute, some landing in her parched mouth, the rest streaming down her features onto the tile floor as she tried helplessly to lap it all up.

A drain seemed to open out of nowhere, and soon the water was gone from the tile, Naia managing to scrape up only a mouthful. Carefully swallowing it little by little, Naia treasured the feeling of the lukewarm substance easing her scorching throat, which burned from the screaming she had done when she first arrived.

She was getting treated like a prisoner. She hated this place. These people. She didn't trust them, and they didn't trust her. Why did she have to stay here? She should just take Daniel and Johanna and leave. She sighed. They wouldn't allow it. Not after her crimes.

First she had demanded to be released, and then she had begged, and finally she had plead for help. Now, she picked up her loaf of bread, tearing off the moldy pieces, and began to split off tiny bits of the hardened loaf. She ate them with controlled movements, keeping her hunger under wraps—for now.

Footsteps suddenly caught Naia's ears. She clambered to her feet, scurrying over to the silver metal door. She pressed her right ear against it, listening intently. Maybe it was someone who could free her. Maybe she could finally get rid of this place.

She froze when a low humming echoed down the hallway, bouncing from wall to wall.

The humming escalated into slow, bone chilling singing, like something of a horror movie. " _Drew, Drew…go away…come again some other day…_ "

Naia's breath hitched. It was him. It was Drew. The boy she had killed. Her _friend_. Her _ally_. Her _victim_. Naia tried to move, to scramble back from the door, but her feet had stuck to the ground. She didn't like this. She didn't like him. To many bad memories.

Drew continued from somewhere unseen. " _You don't like me?_ " Naia swallowed hard. " _I don't care. I will rip out_ all _your hair."_ Drew gave a manic cackle that seemed to come from every direction at once. Panic seized the psychic's lungs, making breathing hard and living harder.

This time the dead hero changed his tune. Instead of singing, he spoke almost poetically. "Vixen, my stranger, in your cage." Naia dug her fingernails into her palms as the voice neared. "Vixen, my bully, feel my _rage_." A fist abruptly slammed on the door, startling Naia. Naia jerked violently, throwing herself away from the door and scrambling backwards on her hands and feet until her back was pressed up against the tile wall, knees up to her chest.

"Vixen, my colleague, I have a _gun!_ " Drew cooed, this time the sound of metal clanking on metal filled the air. Gun on steel. Naia kept her eyes glued to the door. He couldn't get her. Not in here. She was safe. He couldn't get in. "Vixen, my ally, you are _no_ fun!"

Naia's breathing had escalated into a full-fledged panic attack, and she struggled to snatch her breath before it disappeared completely. Drew didn't help. "Vixen, my trusted, I'll _find_ you soon!" Naia closed her eyes, squeezing them shut and focusing. It was fake. He wasn't in the facility. He wasn't here. The next line made her blood run cold.

Warm breath wafted on the tip of Naia's nose and her damp forehead. "Vixen, my angel, _I'm in the room._ "

Naia opened her eyes in shock. Drew stood above her, bending over and sticking his face in her's. Blood dripped from his nose, and the corner of his mouth. Crimson red oozed steadily from a gory hole in his stomach, dripping onto Naia's knees and staining her lightly colored pants. Fear was obvious in the psychic's eyes.

"Vixen, my devil, I just want to _play_."

Naia rolled to her right quickly, whisking towards the open door. She let out a terrified bleat as a cold tendril latched onto her ankle and swept her footing out from under her. She was flipped onto her back, face to face with a grisly Drew. He had extended his knife-like maroon limbs and they were perched in the air menacingly.

"Vixen, my _cut-throat_ , don't run away!" he hissed, a demented grin alight on his features. She clawed at his wine-red limbs as they wrapped around her legs, dragging her towards him, across the scratchy ground. Naia was crying now. As much as she hated it, she was _petrified_. She dug her nails harshly into his blood-colored branches, letting out a growl of frenzied frustration.

"Vixen, my _slayer_ , don't play these games," Drew scolded, his muscular appendages bringing her up so she was standing like him. Naia let out a pathetic whimper, pulling her head back as far as she could as Drew brought his closer.

" _Vixen,_ " he sang in a venomous hiss. His human arms came up and locked around her throat, cutting off her " _You won't escape_."

Naia awoke with a tight gasp. She thrashed, immediately sensing that someone was on top of her, pinning her down by the throat.

"What the— _cough_ —hell?!" snarled Naia angrily.

"I hate you!" growled Pat in return, her violet eyes filled with insanity. "I hate you! I hate you, you _bitch_!"

"What— _cough_ —the hell— _cough_ —are you talking about?!"

"You killed them!" Pat growled, digging her pointed pink-painted nails into Naia's skin and spitting her her face. "I hate you! You killed them!"

"Get off me— _cough_ —you _freak_!" gritted out Naia. She brought up an angry fist and sent it flying into Pat's face. Pat stumbled a bit before regaining her composure and continuing to strangle Naia furiously.

"Pat!"

Naia painfully turned her head, facing the hospital room door, and looked with bleary eyes at the figure in the door. Tall. Dark skinned. Iron Man boxers? Victor? Behind him stood two girls, one taller, the other shorter. Piper and Eleanor, she assumed.

"Pat!" Victor swiftly came over, with a temper that matched that of an angry parent. "Pat! Let her go!" He sounded like he was trying to tame a freaking dog.

"Get off me!" Naia snapped. Pat, who was partially distracted by Victor's entry, was quickly thrown from the older girl's body, off of the hospital bed, and onto the floor. Pat glared up, ready to lunge again as Naia nearly coughed up a lung.

While Naia gasped for air and rubbed her throat tenderly, Victor stepped between she and Pat, Piper and Eleanor flanking him.

"The hell is your problem?!" demanded Pat loudly.

"The problem is that you _attacked_ her!" replied Piper bitterly.

"She killed them!" Pat answered with narrowed eyes.

"We don't know that," attempted Eleanor, putting up both of her hands and trying to calm the mentally unstable hero.

"What, you think it was the guy who's been in surgery for the past _five_ hours?"

That was true. Daniel _had_ been in surgery for an extremely long time. So he couldn't have done it—hold on, what was _it?_ Nai suddenly felt utterly left out. She'd never been left out. What the hell was going on?!

"Oh, no wait, you're right," Pat said with sarcastic understanding, "It had to have been the other girl. Not like she was in questioning _all-freaking-day!"_ Johanna was in questioning? They hadn't actually told her. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents just kinda showed up and took her.

Pat was suddenly glaring straight at Naia, pointing an shaking finger at her, furious tears lining her violet eyes. "It was her, the _bitch!_ You killed them! They're dead because of you!"

Victor was still directing his stone gaze at Pat, but Piper and Eleanor almost seemed to be considering that Pat was telling the truth. When Victor uncertainly glanced over his shoulder at Naia, that was when she snapped.

"Listen up, _assholes_ ," Naia said evenly, one hand still soothing her fiery throat and the other clenched tightly with controlled anger. Her language got the attention of everyone in the room. "I _get_ it, _okay_?" she hissed. "I killed your friend." The four showed hurt.

"And, yea, I know I'm not the _friendliest_ person on the planet," continued the psychic, her face twisted into a snarl. "But _neither_ _are you people_." Did they seem surprised? Now she was pissed. "The only _difference_ between us, is that we ended up working for different people. You— _any of you_ —could've ended up on the same side that I did! Any of you could've ended up in the same position I was in!" She paused, scanning back over the heroes. "So maybe you all have the rights to call me a _killer_ , a _psychopath_ , a _murderer_ , and even an _asshole_ for what I did, and I get it." she scoffed, almost humored. "Yea, I even deserve it."

Her eyes narrowed and she looked each one of them dead in the eyes. "But listen the hell up," she gritted out with venomous eyes. "You do _not_ get to play 'Blame the Asshole' whenever something bad happens! You got that?" They didn't answer or nod, but she could tell they did. "I'm fed up with your attitudes! So knock it the hell off!"

There was a brief moment of silence as Victor tried to get a read on Naia, Piper and Eleanor glanced warily at each other, and Pat continued burning holes into Naia mentally.

Sighing angrily, Naia slammed her head back down on her pillow and yanking the sheets back up to her chin, facing away from the heroes.

"I have no _freaking_ clue as to what happened to your wonder boy band monkeys."

That seemed to convince them.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground Laboratory_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

"So she really doesn't know what happened to them?" sighed Annaleise.

The enhanced teenager had taken a seat on the tabletop of one of the many desks in the lab, her legs dangling off the edge. Piper sat on her left, wiping at her eyes every few seconds. Curled under the 16 year old detective's left arm was Eleanor.

Along with them, Victor stood over to the right with Coulson, Hunter and Bobbi were off to the right, and an aggravated looking Pat was standing uncomfortably next to Skylier and Marie. Skye and May had also joined the group, both putting on their Agent manors, rather than their slightly freer masks.

The 13 year old was obviously trying very hard not to cry as she stared at what lay before them.

Three stone statues had been carefully brought into the lab. If she hadn't known better, Annaleise would've thought someone had made perfect statues of her male teammates. But she did know better. Those weren't statues. Those _were_ here friends. The boys. They were stone.

"We had Fitz's new Truth/Lie Monitor working the entire time," nodded Victor.

"Steady heartbeat, controlled breathing, no dilation in the eyes…" Jemma agreed as she read over a paper that Fitz had given her. "Yes, she's telling the truth—albeit a bit angrily."

"Then who did this?" Eleanor demanded anxiously. "I mean…this is S.H.I.E.L.D…it was supposed to be safe…"

"It was," repeated Coulson, he crossed his arms, looking almost guiltily at the stone boys.

"What I'm wondering is why hasn't it affected the girls?" piped up Lana as she and Jemma circled the boys, examining them carefully.

Annaleise felt Eleanor tense at her side, and watched Piper go ridged. She too was nervous, tensing up a bit and hugging Eleanor a bit tighter to her side.

Jemma, realizing the possibility, walked briskly over to a drawer in her desk, opened it and pulled out a small device. She walked back over to the girls.

"Would you please give me your fingers?" she asked gently.

Annaleise, being the oldest, volunteered first, trying to be brave, she stuck out her index finger. Jemma kindly took it and turned her hand over, so the palm was facing the ceiling. Pressing the device—which looked like a toothbrush with no bristles, a black square screen at the end of a stick—to Annaleise's finger. A sharp pinch pressed into her finger and Annaleise let out a yelp of surprise, startling Eleanor.

"Sorry," she apologized quickly, earning a nod from the glowing girl.

Meanwhile, Jemma was looking at the top of the screen. "No traces of anything unusual in your bloodstream." She announced, and Annaleise felt a weight she didn't know she was carrying lift from her shoulders. The process was repeated with Piper and Eleanor, and the results came back the same.

"My God," Skye suddenly cried. Annaleise looked up at the superior agent curiously. "The food! Hunter, it was the food!"

Hunter's eyes widened and he ran his hands through his short hair. "Bloody 'ell."

"The food?" demanded May, obviously unhappy with being left out of the circle of trust.

"Yesterday," began Skye, "Coulson sent someone to go pick up food for the boys. Piper and Eleanor couldn't make it."

"Agent Hunter, Agent Morse, Agent May."

The Brit, the Blonde and the Cavalry looked up at the Director. "Director," they answered in unison, apart from May who answered 'Coulson'.

"I sent an agent named Agent Rafael Frederick to pick up that food for Agents Cassidy, Kinzoku and Butler. I want to know who he is really, and who he's working for. Whatever means necessary."

May's eyes, specifically, turned to slits when the last sentence was spoken. The trio nodded and quickly exited the laboratory.

"Sir," Lana asked quietly from where she was studying Lachlan's stone arm. "With all due respect, I think it's in our best interest to get these three moved to a secure medical facility."

"Agent Thalmow is correct, Sir," agreed Jemma with a nervous nod. "We may be—" she flicked her eyes to the girls before continuing hesitantly. "—on a strict timeline. We don't know how long we have to reverse the effects before its…permanent…We need more resources."

"Agreed," said Coulson sternly. "Agent Skye, go arrange for a Quinjet to be prepped."

Skye didn't hesitate before running off.

"As for the rest of you," Coulson seemed to relax a bit when his direct team of agents had left the room. He swept his gaze over the heroes: Victor, Pat, Skylier, Marie, Annaleise, Eleanor, Piper. "Get some rest. I'll keep you posted on Lachlan, Spencer and Tamashi's arrival at the facility. You leave tomorrow."

Annaleise reluctantly agreed.

She didn't want to wait though. She wanted to leave now and be with the boys and protect them. But since that wasn't an option, she supposed she would have to stay. And Christ, she had work in a few days. If they died she was taking off. Maybe even quitting.

This duel life was getting to be harder than she thought.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

It wasn't fifteen minutes after Skylier had entered the hallway, being the last one out of the lab, that an agent had approached the group. They'd made their way to the Dorm Hallway by then.

"Agents! Age— _huff_ —Agent— _huff_ —" the agent certainly wasn't in the best condition. Skylier looked him over with a raised eyebrow of disapproval. This guy looked like someone who spent his S.H.I.E.L.D. Guard Duty watching TV or playing videogames.

"Spit it out!" Pat shouted in an annoyed manor, throwing her hands up.

The big man paled at that, and quickly caught his breath, although he still hunched over a bit. "Age— _whew_ —Agent May just asked for you all to report to the Quinjet Bay for an assignment."

Victor looked pissed. He was glaring daggers at the nervous wreck of a man. "Director Coulson just said we could take a break."

"Apologies Agent—Mr.—Agent Valentine, Sir," Victor rolled his eyes. "But Agent May said its urgent. She has a Quinjet prepped and everything. Said you'd be updated on the way."

"Where is this assignment taking place?" asked Piper curiously.

"That's all I know, ma'am. Sorry." 3 Buffets For Lunch answered.

"Yea, yea, dismissed," Marie grumbled, waving him off.

The man gave a nod, what almost looked like a small bow, and then loped away.

Skylier gave a long sigh. "And here I was looking forwards to some _Lost_ time."

"TV rots your brain," retorted Marie playfully.

"Ugh. Says _you_. All of your conversations have been ' _Walking Dead this_ ' and ' _Walking Dead that'_."

"Daryl's easy on the eyes."

"I didn't say he wasn't, but Rick's better."

"Lies."

"Psh," Pat scoffed. "Glenn is the way to go."

"You kidding?" Piper intervened. "Daryl and Rick are better than Glenn."

"No way," Eleanor argued stubbornly, "Glenn is freaking amazing."

"Ladies," Victor drawled, with a smug look on his face. "Can we please?" he gestured down the hallway.

"Right," Skylier nodded, her face reddening a bit. "Sorry." Embarrassed mutters of 'sorry' and 'oops' and 'forgot you were there' filled the small corridor.

Skylier and Marie took their usual positions on either side of Pat as she took off down the hall. Victor tailed them, and Annaleise, Piper and Eleanor took the rear.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Quinjet 508_

 _Somewhere over the North Atlantic – Off the Coast of New York_

Heights made Marie queasy. Not a bad kind of queasy, just sort of…excited queasy…Luckily for her. Annaleise was clutching her seat like it was a bucking bronco, and Piper was carefully avoiding looking out any of the windows. The rest seemed okay.

Victor was the only one standing, being the ever-protective older brother figure that he was. Pat was sprawled out on the floor, looking bored out of her mind as she casually carved drawings into her hand with her knife and watched them heal up, not flinching once. Eleanor was partially distracted by Pat, who was performing the actions at her feet, but also gazed out of the window dreamingly.

Marie herself had taken a seat near the middle. She was flanked on either side by two random agents that she didn't know, they seemed to be lurking all around the jet. Men and women in black S.H.I.E.L.D. gear sat in every open seat, a couple standing over by Victor and making small talk. A team of five or six pilots were jammed in the front cockpit, each one trying to show the heroes that he was the best one.

"So…" Marie began awkwardly, glancing up at the black matte next to her. He turned, looking at her (or so she assumed) through the black glass visor. "I'm Phantom, nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand with a blank face.

"I know who you are ma'am," replied the soldier in a polite tone. He took her hand and shook it carefully. "Agent Frank Marigold, S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 6."

"Pleasure," nodded Marie. The action was a bit tough, because she too was in her full costume and the mask made things tough.

She sent a casual look down at the gun in Frank's lap. They'd need it. This mission, as it had been revealed, was another lead on Aeron, the mysterious girlfriend of Kris Stefans. She'd been spotted on a cruise ship off the coast somewhere. It wasn't Kris, but Marie didn't see a very large difference, Aeron was nearly as bad.

Something else caught Marie's eyes. She titled her head a bit at the photograph peeking out from inside of Frank's pocket. Frank must have noticed, because soon gloved fingers reached down and slipped the crumpled picture out, holding it out.

A beautiful woman with curly red hair that piled on her shoulders, and a bright smile stared back from the picture, a small baby in her arms.

"She's beautiful," complimented Marie with a soft smile.

"Thank you ma'am," answered Frank. He pointed a delicate finger at the woman. "Her name is Lilian, and _that_ —" a smile worked its way onto the older man's face as his finger shifted to the baby. "—is Ann-Marie."

Marie couldn't help but smile at the name. "How old is she?" she inquired curiously.

"5 months now," responded Frank proudly.

It was nice. This. Meeting someone normal for once. She didn't get normal very often. Normal was…rare…a lot rarer than it should be for someone her age. She should be in school. Maybe a job. Driving. She had barely seen a car, let alone drive one. And now she was looking at a picture of a baby with some random stranger. It hit her then. That's what normal people did. She was being…normal.

"I like the name," Marie chuckled in a admiring fashion.

"Yea?" Frank almost sounded surprised. "It was Lily's idea. _Ann_ means 'merciful' and _Marie is_ 'Wished-for child'."

"You don't say," smirked Marie. Her parents didn't search for her. Not that she knew of. Not after Hydra took her. So much for being a 'wished-for child'. "At least you've got nice parents." She added, mainly to herself.

"That your name, ma'am?" asked Frank, obviously before he could stop himself, because he quickly continued with. "Sorry ma'am. I shouldn't have said that, ma'am."

"Nah, nah, it's fine," waved off Marie. "It's Marie. Don't go telling everyone." She gave a playful smile.

"Yes ma'am," agreed Frank with a grin.

That was when one of the many pilots walked in with a look of dread on his face, his face now visible after the visor had been lifted.

"Sir, we have a problem."

"What's wrong Agent Smith?" demanded Frank, standing up.

This time, Agent Smith looked dead into Marie's eyes. "I'm afraid there's a third party on board."

"Excuse me?" Frank looked stunned.

Agent Smith shakily looked down at his own chest, and it was then that Marie saw it.

The blossoming red stain on his chest.

"Jack!" Frank shouted, beginning to race forward. Marie worked faster. But not fast enough. As Marie lunged for Frank, another gunshot rang out from the cockpit and Frank collided backwards into her.

"Phantom!" Skylier called, jumping to her feet. Everyone was on their feet now, but not everyone was on their side. Two agents had tackled Victor nearly to the ground, although he was holding his own pretty well. Skylier was dragged backwards by a muscular woman, who wrapped her arms around Skylier's waist and slammed her into the wall.

Piper screamed in one attacker's face, keeping one of the actual S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—a young woman—behind her. Pat had whipped out her swords and was carefully stabbing the badguys, finding it hard in the small space. Annaleise had unleashed her own katana, but it remained unlit as for the small confinements. Eleanor's arms were being pinned by a massive man, but a beam through his thigh send him shrieking to the ground.

Meanwhile, Marie ran over to Frank, who was firing at some agents from the ground.

"Frank!" she shouted, kneeling next to him and holding her hands to his side. He was wearing a bullet proof vest, but these bullets were different. See Agent Smith for reference. The bullet had grazed his side deeply, tearing out a large gash.

"I'm going to have to ask you to get down, Ma'am," urged Frank with a grunt of pain. He continued shooting past Marie.

"Frank! Knock it off!" she growled, applying more pressure.

The pilots had exited the cockpit, the Quinjet now on autopilot.

"Victor! Get to the cockpit!" ordered Piper loudly from her place fighting a large female agent.

Skylier got to her feet from where she was getting corner on the ground and began wrestling another Third Party agent.

Marie's eyes widened, but another man was trying to tackle her, and it was taking all she could to keep one hand focused on keeping the man back and the other holding Frank from bleeding. "Knight! Look—"

A raucous alarm suddenly screamed in Marie's ears as the entrance ramp began opening in the Quinjet.

"Frank I—" she didn't need to finish, as Frank was already nodding, pressing his own hand to his wound. She silently thanked him and raced to her feet, right as Skylier and the agent she was wrestling were ripped from their footing and thrown out into the open sky.

Marie screamed as Skylier flew out of the Quinjet, the remaining passengers now clinging to anything they could to keep from being in the same situation. Victor had managed his way to Frank and clutched one of the seats with one hand, and Frank with the other, keeping the wounded secured.

Marie didn't think twice as she ran towards the edge. She used her telekinesis, quickly latching on to Skylier and stopping her mid-air. Skylier let out a pained grunt that was lost in the wind, and tried to cling onto the invisible savior. Marie, now losing her own footing, latched onto the safety railing on the side of the gaping hole in the back of the jet, and mentally yanked Skylier back in.

"Come on!" she gritted out. A Third Party woman went flying past Marie and out in the sky, nearly decapitating Skylier. Then a man. Then another woman. Another man. Again a man. Victor, Piper, Annaleise and Eleanor were shoving them, hitting them, slicing them, getting their grips to loosen and sending them flying out into the open.

Soon none were left. Marie gave a final yank and Skylier's hand clasped in hers. She let out a scream of effort and pulled her like-sister into her arms as Piper ran over and reclosed the large boarding ramp.

"Are you alright?" Marie demanded warily, hugging her near-sister tightly.

"I'm fine, Mar," answered Skylier shakily.

"Phantom, Black Knight."

Marie's eyes widened and she double checked Skylier was alright before releasing and running over to Victor and Frank.

"Don't worry," Victor assured. "He's going to be fine."

Piper, who was attending the second actual S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the young woman Piper had been protecting earlier.

"Wish I could say the same for Jack," sighed Frank as he peered over at Agent Smith's still body.

"I'm sorry," apologized Piper, earning a sad nod from Frank.

A small beeping caught the entire group's ears.

"For God's sake…" snarled Pat as she finished sheathing her katanas and made her way to the cockpit. "Uh—umm—Vic! I need you! Red lights! Lots of red lights!"

Victor seemed to get unsettled by that.

"You," he addressed the younger female agent calmly but strictly. "What's your name?"

"Age—Agent Margaret Ph—Phillips S—Sir. Level F—Four."

"Margaret, come over here and hold Frank's intestines in," Victor directed with the same calm strict tone.

Margaret paled but obliged, scampering over and pressing her gloved hands to the wound.

Victor got to his feet and Marie followed him briskly into the cockpit.

Pat wasn't lying. Tiny red blinking lights were all over the place and—

Oh great. Nosedives were not part of Marie's agenda.

"What the hell?!" she demanded, drawing out the 'el' in the word as they began diving towards the ocean.

Victor practically leapt into the pilot's seat, while Pat took a seat in the copilot's and Marie clung to them both for dear life. Pat let out a demonic joy filled laugh as the water approached.

"Woohoo! Haven't drowned in a while!" she cheered, pumping her fist.

"Not helping!" someone, assumed Annaleise, shrieked from the back of the Quinjet.

Victor yanked up on the controls, flipping switches and pushing buttons. Pat clicked her own buttons and switches, admittedly helping and not increasing the crash like Marie had assumed her to. Eleanor had clawed her way to the front.

"What's going on?!" she called loudly over the noise of the collapsing engine.

"The Quinjet is broken!" answered Marie in a panicked fashion. She wasn't one for panicking, but she wasn't one for crashing either. "Pat! Victor! Fix it! Somebody!" she growled loudly as her stomach entered her chest and her lunch threatened leaving.

Victor threw another switch and yanked backwards again. This time the jet, belly skimming the water, veered upwards. Marie's stomach dropped like a rock and she held back gagging as the windshield filled with sky and the flew sharply upwards.

Victor quickly steadied the vehicle and everyone let out a gasp of relief, apart from Pat, who basically booed in unhappiness.

Annaleise, hair disheveled and entire body shaky, crept into the packed cockpit from the back. She gave a shaky breath. "Firstly," she began. "I am _never_ riding one of these things again." Marie couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "And secondly, that's two assassination attempts in the past two days."

Victor nodded in agreement.

"We need to talk to Coulson."

 **So, not my best cliffhanger ever, but believe me, the next chapter will have a butt-load of more action. ;) This chapter finished at 4956, hope you found it satisfactory. I felt I owed you all after the long wait. :) I somehow managed to cram 4 POVs in here! Is that normal? Idk. It felt like a lot more to me.**

 **SO! That beginning! What did everyone think of Naia's horrific nightmare? And what about Pat's attack? The whole idea of Naia's speech goes to** _ **Elianora Annora**_ **so please let her know if you liked it! :D**

 **What did you guys think of Frank Marigold? I enjoyed writing him. I actually had a very different ending planned for him, if you're interested them PM me. :) He won't be that big of a character, but I feel like he made a nice minor character. Fun fact: Marigolds actually symbolize grief. Poor Naia. I torture her. X)**

 **OH! AND THAT POEM AT THE BEGINNING! I WROTE THAT! WHOO! XD I'm pretty proud of that. Let me know what you thought of it.**

 **And OMG! The boys are** _ **still**_ **stone! I know, I know "oh AG, how could you do this to me?!" Haha. I'm evil like that. XD**

 **Anyways, let me know what you think of this chapter, and what you think is gonna happen next!**

 **Love y'all!**

 **-AG**


	5. Employees Only

Chapter 4-

 **Aloha my amigos. Wow. That was very inconsistent language-ing. X)**

 _ **Anyways**_ **, thank you all for your reviews and PMs. :) As always, they're much appreciated and I love them to death.**

 **I'd like to give a special shout-out to** _ **Miss Skywalker**_ **, submitter of Eleanor, because she's a guest reader and yet she still leaves a review every new chapter. :) I understand that you don't get email updates, and instead check for new chapters, because I remember my time as a guest and I know it's harder than it sounds, so I appreciate that you take the time to drop a review. ;) (also I love your penname! XD)**

 **Now then, let's see what our poor tormented group is up to shall we?**

 **Warning: Forever the warning of violence and language. X)**

 _Contamination of Unworldly Resources Exploration Facility_

 _(C.U.R.E.)_

 _A Day After The Quinjet Left_

Tamashi's world began black.

Where was he?

Where were others?

He hadn't remembered falling asleep.

No. He hadn't fallen asleep. Oh God. He remembered now. Tamashi remembered awakening in the dead of night to a unexplainable agony ripping open his chest and turning his veins to lead. He remembered looking down and seeing his legs paralyzed in cold hard stone. He remembered the air leaving his lungs as they to became petrified in rock. But he was breathing now. He had to prove it. He had to.

Tamashi gave a sharp gasp as all of the nerves in his body lit with fire and his lungs suddenly felt as though they were shredded to pieces. The Asian jerked upwards, attempting a sitting position, but quickly coughed out a shout and laid back down.

"Take it easy dude."

"Spencer?" Tamashi croaked uncertainly. He blinked open his heavy eyes, the white light near blinding him.

"A very in-pain Spencer, at your service," came the groggy response.

"What happened?" he knew the answer, but it was just one of those things. You asked questions when you had experienced something traumatic, even if you knew what had happened. It helped if someone told you, rather than you remembering for yourself.

"Medusa tried to kill us," still Spencer. "Turned us to freaking statues. Like Narnia."

Tamashi wheezed a laugh at that. Narnia. One of the Force-Field Wielder's favorite movies. "Where is Lachlan?"

"He's here. He just…well…he has a predicament…"

Still uncertain about moving, Tamashi heaved a long sigh and then—and only then—slowly and carefully pulled himself to a sitting position. His right side still burned with agony, and his right arm—the metal one—wasn't functioning properly.

He turned his head lazily. He was on some sort of hospital bed, in what looked like Jemma's laboratory, maybe a little different. Spencer was to his right, in his own hospital bed. And behind him was—Spencer leaned in front of his gaze.

The brunette had his hands behind his back for some reason, and had a cautious frown on his face. "Okay, don't freak out. Okay? Just stay calm. You're gonna be a little startled. So—the whole stone thing? Hasn't—well—they ah—they kinda…the affects aren't _completely_ cured yet…"

Tamashi raised a questioning eyebrow, and peered around his brotherly figure. Lachlan sat on a hospital bed behind Spencer. Tamashi froze at the sight. The lower half of Lachlan's face, along with the all of his right shoulder, remained solid rock. Eyes widened, the Asian now realized that Spencer had held up his hands while speaking, and that the sarcastic boy's hands and fingers were also still in their solid form.

Tamashi, now panicking slightly, lowered his eyes to his own stinging body.

 _Shinseina tawagoto._

Holy shit.

Encased in a thick layer of stone was his entirety of his Vibranium right arm, and all of his right side. Keeping his absolute best cool that he could, he turned back to Spencer with a frown.

"Who undressed us?"

There was a pause before Spencer burst out laughing.

"Ah, I'm not actually sure," he replied honestly. "At least they let us keep our boxers, right?"

Another frown.

"It's not _my_ fault _you_ chose to wear your kitten boxers."

Tamashi eyed his friend's own boxers.

Spencer crossed his hands, a bit awkwardly due to the current situation. " _For your information_ , unicorns in party hats are _completely_ manly." He let out a sigh after both Lachlan and Tamashi gave him a look. "I lost a dare against Pat. What's your excuse?" the two turned back around to Lachlan.

Lachlan, his mouth immobile, gave a guilty shrug as Tamashi and Spencer raised eyebrows at Lachlan's comic-book themed boxers.

"Oh!" the three faced the door then, a bit surprised at the newcomer. Albeit, Jemma looked far more startled. "You're awake!"

"I'd say so," agreed Tamashi with a nod.

"And—you're not stone! It worked!" she marveled.

"Nearly," frowned Spencer as he held up his hands and bobbed his head at Lachlan.

Jemma furrowed her brows and swiftly scampered over to Lachlan, setting a hand on both sides of his head and carefully examining him, much to the Irish Born's obvious discomfort. "Lana and I calculated the formula…" she muttered, mainly to herself. "The liquid in your bodies should have…hm…maybe…no…I'd think…yes…" she continued, unconcerned of the boys' bewilderment.

"It should wear off within the next hour," Jemma eventually promised, releasing Lachlan.

"What exactly happened?" Spencer inquired for them all. She wasn't exactly hiding the fact that she knew way more about the situation than they did.

"Oh—you don't remember? How unusual," remarked the biochemist, just as Lana walked in.

"They're awake!" the younger girl exclaimed as her eyes lifted to the trio. "And they're not s—"

" _Eto_ ," cut in Tamashi. "We've been over this already."

"—stone," Lana finished. She sighed. "Just sarcastic as ever." She paused, picking up a check-off clipboard. "How do you feel?" the Soul Bender asked, slipping into doctor-mode. "Any headaches, nausea or cramps?"

"You make us sound like teenage girls…" muttered Spencer. Lachlan quickly reached across the gap between their beds and slapped him upside the head. "What?" he grumbled, rubbing the back of his skull. Letting out a sigh, he continued: "No. No headaches. No nausea. And definitely no cramps. My hands just hurt."

Tamashi gave a nod of approval. "Along with my arm and side."

Lachlan pointed to his mouth and gave a hum.

"We could give you some painkillers," offered Jemma. The three, about to jump on the opportunity, stopped when the next part of the sentence came. "But they'll make you drowsy."

" _Ch'_ ," scoffed Tamashi.

Spencer nodded in approval, "I think we've slept enou—what day is it?" the three's eyes widened.

"February the 3rd…why?" inquired Jemma with a rising eyebrow.

"Oh God," Spencer frowned, while Lachlan scrubbed his face with his own hands and Tamashi flopped backwards onto his bed in disbelief. "It's been two days."

Lana bobbed her head, brushing a wild strand of dark purple hair back behind one ear. "Yes."

"We missed two days. 48 hours." Tamashi muttered.

"49," corrected Jemma instinctively. Lana shook her head and winced. Jemma cringed, "Sorry."

"S'fine," huffed Spencer. "Let's just—ah—well—where's Piper, Eleanor and Pat?"

"They were sent on an assignment yesterday, they're currently en route," replied Lana. "We lost radio contact, and Coulson thinks that's why they're returning, to fix the connection."

"Hm"

Tamashi noticed Lachlan trying to catch their attention. "Yes?" he requested with a look of curiosity.

"Hm mm mmm hm," Lachlan paused, sighed and bowed his head in a 'you've got to be kidding me' manor. Raising his eyebrows, he gestured to his wrist.

"Your wrist?" Spencer queried, tilting his head as if to get a better look.

"Your hand?" suggested Tamashi.

Lachlan jerked his free hand at his wrist in anger.

"Your…arm…?" enquired Lana with rising confusion.

Lachlan huffed and tapped his wrist with his index finger.

"A…watch?" Jemma inquired with a shrug.

Lachlan went wild, nodding and pointing at Jemma.

"A watch." She assured.

He gave a questioning look and then bobbed his head from side to side, appearing to be contemplating. Lachlan held out his hand in an 'go on' gesture.

" _Your_ watch?" Lana tried. "Are you looking for your watch?"

The Irish shook his head disappointedly, he gave a shrug and then pointed to the 'watch' again.

"What time is it…?" Spencer attempted, earning a subtle nod from Lachlan. Tamashi was lost. What the heck was Lachlan trying to say?

Finally giving up, Lachlan practically leapt from his hospital bed, wincing a bit at the lack of use his feet had received. Tamashi sat up again, grimacing as a sharp pain ran through his statue side and arm. The metal arm was hooked up to his nerves, and his nerves severely disliked being stone.

Lachlan sped over to a lab desk and snatched a paper and pencil. Walking over and snatching a sharpie from Lana's lab coat pocket, he removed the cap and scrawled something down, showing them a minute later.

 **WHT IS ETA?**

"Eta?" and Spencer was lost to. Marvelous.

"ETA," corrected Jemma, eyes sparking in realization. "The rest of your team is expected to arrive within the next hour."

"So we sit here for an hour?" Spencer glowered, reaching up to a run a hand through his hair, only to stop and set his rock hands back on the blanket.

Lachlan gave a nod and deflated, flopping back down on his bed.

"Could we call them?" asked Spencer with childish impatience.

"Of course," Jemma smiled. She led Spencer out of the room and they returned moments later.

"Skylier and Piper answered," he informed. "She said all the usual stuff, she's happy we're awake, etc, etc, etc. She also said that we should take a tour, apparently it's pretty interesting…"

"You're welcome to walk around…if you're up to it…" offered Lana uneasily.

Jemma seemed more enthusiastic, "We're not at the Playground anymore. You were brought to a facility called Contamination of Unworldly Resources Exploration Facility, or C.U.R.E. You had a team of professional S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors work on a vaccine."

There was a brief silence. Spencer looked up, holding one finger up, "Wouldn't that be—"

"They try not to mention it," agreed Jemma with a disappointed nod.

"Right," Tamashi lamented. "Let's go explore _C.U.R.E.F.…_ "

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Corridors of C.U.R.E.F._

 _15 Minutes Later_

"I like the Playground better…" announced Spencer with an underwhelmed frown.

"Agreed," Tamashi sighed, sweeping his gaze over the uninteresting cliché hospital hallway.

Raising a hand to speak, Lachlan grumbled somethin behind the stone mask and pulled out a pocket-sized notebook from his gray hospital sweatpants. He scribbled down something with Lana's sharpie.

 **I HATE THIS.**

"Don't we all?" asked Tamashi, subconsciously putting his good hand on his side, which was covered by a hospital issue white t-shirt. All of the boys had the getup. Gray sweatpants, a white t-shirt, no shoes, and Spencer had requested a black hoodie.

" _Welp_ ," Spencer suddenly clapped his hands together. He spun around, towards a door marked 'Employees Only' "We've got an hour, why not make the best of it?"

"We shouldn't," disagreed Tamashi quickly. "We are guests here."

"Psh," Spencer waved him off. "Come on, doesn't this room look interesting?"

"Does it?" sighed Tamashi.

The three turned stone cold as someone else spoke up from behind them, "It is actually pretty cool."

"Skye," Tamashi huffed. Lachlan paled. Spencer froze mid-step.

She smirked, "Don't worry, I won't tell. Have fun." She continued down the hall, past the boys, typing at something on a tablet in her hands.

" _See_ , Skye says we should," nodded Spencer as he poked his head in. "And, wow, look at that, it's empty. I'll just—" he slipped into the room casually, leaving the two other boys in the corridor.

Tamashi was quick to join him, anxious for _something_ new, even if he didn't admit it. Lachlan put up a hand in protest, but, sending one look down the boring hallway, reluctantly followed.

Desks were set up all across the room. Papers had been scattered, and transport vehicles had been lined up on one side of the large area. Tools had been sprinkled across the tables and a thick door near the back of the room read 'Tool Storage' in large letters.

"What is this?" inquired a bewildered Spencer. He sent a disgusted eye at one of the many desks, where blueprints for a metal leg had been abandoned.

Tamashi caught on quickly, "This is most likely where they fix up prosthetic limbs made from Vibranium, like mine. S.H.I.E.L.D. issued or otherwise."

"Ah.." acknowledged the Force Field Wielder. "That makes sense." He poked at a metal leg on another table. "It was starting to look a little Dr. Frankenstein."

"Hm," agreed Lachlan from where he was examining a medical transport vehicle. The vehicles were lower to the ground, with two seats in the front—driver and doctor—and a cot in a small cab in the back. Spencer coughed briefly, and Tamashi suddenly also found his throat itchy and attempted to clear it. Lachlan was wildly clearing his throat, as his ability to cough was long gone with the stone muzzle.

"What— _cough_ —what is that?" whined Spencer. Tamashi's eyes filled with forced tears, his retinas were scorching, burning and releasing hot tears down his face. Spencer was crying too, as was Lachlan as the three stumbled back to the door.

Lachlan hastily scrabbled something onto the paper and held it up, wiping frantically at his eyes. **TEAR GAS.**

Tamashi hurriedly brought the collar of his t-shirt up over his nose, Lachlan and Spencer matching the action. Lachlan gave a strong yank at the door knob.

"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Spencer as he angrily kicked at the locked door.

Tamashi prepared to teleport, imagining the boring old hallway he had just been inside of.

The terrifying sound of a machine gun silenced Spencer and broke Tamashi's concentration. The gun obviously had a silencer, because it wasn't nearly as loud as it should have been, but it was loud enough to startle the three heroes.

Lachlan grabbed the top of Tamashi and Spencer's heads protectively, shoving them downwards as he dropped to a crouch. Tamashi's neck cricked but he didn't complain. Instead, he tried to peer through the accumulated gray smoke that now filled the room. They had to find the shooter. Gunfire erupted at the trio's feet and they pressed themselves back against the wall. The two younger boys turned to Lachlan, who had a furious expression.

The symbiote-less symbiote wearer, still holding onto their heads, shoved them forwards and the three ran directionless off to the right, away from the shooter—or so they hoped. They reached the Tool Storage room and pried open the door fearfully, packing inside and closing the door behind them. Bullets pinged off the metal door and the three relaxed against the shelves. The adrenaline faded and the three gave pained breaths, clutching their stone limbs and muscles.

"We—need—a—plan," huffed Spencer. Lachlan managed a nod before grabbing at his shoulder achingly.

"We're—cornered—" answered a tired Tamashi.

"Doesn't matter," Spencer grasped a hold of his breath and slowed it.

"We—our—our powers—aren't—" Tamashi broke off in agonizing breaths, wiping scorching hot tears from his eyes.

"Yea," nodded Spencer in understanding.

Spencer's powers relied on his hands. Some professionals, like the Invisible Woman, could forge force fields with their minds, but for the most part—from what Tamashi understood—it was your hands that directed the force at the wanted object.

Lachlan's suit, Anguish, arrived from inside of him. With his mouth covered there was no way for Anguish to escape. Tamashi felt sorry for Lachlan, the boy had explained to the Asian that the symbiote was very impatient, and got furious if not released. The teleporter could visibly see Lachlan twitching from the strain.

Meanwhile, with the combination of gunfire, tear gas, and excruciating pain in his arm and side, Tamashi's teleport was useless. If only he could get the stone off, then they could—he froze.

 **I HVE IDEA** scribbled Lachlan.

The two looked at him impatiently. Tear gas had already began to seep in through the crack at the bottom of the door, irritating the two's eyes even further. The Asian felt bad for his brunette brother, who couldn't wipe at his eyes because of his current condition. Tamashi already knew the idea, so did Spencer.

 **TOOLS** Lachlan wrote anyways.

Picking up the nearest tool uncertainly, the Asian and the brunette turned to the Irish, looking at him younger brothers to older brother. Spencer, unable to hold a tool, but getting the idea, walked unsurely towards Tamashi. Lachlan picked up a scraper used for removing paint. Lachlan gave them a nod, as if to say 'you ready?'

Tamashi nodded with determination, while Spencer was slightly more reluctant. "This could break my hands…" he cringed.

"We'll take care of you," promised Tamashi with a glare sent towards the flathead screwdriver in his own hands.

And then they began.

The process was unforgiving. Chipping stone off of your skin didn't exactly feel the greatest, as they all quickly released. Tamashi had begun carving at the layer of stone encasing Spencer's hands, while Lachlan had begun on his own mouth. The first piece tore off and Spencer let out a shout, quickly snatching a less than clean bolt remover out of one of the bins and biting down on it like a dog with a stick. He gave several more cries as the stone was cut from his flesh, pieces clinking onto the metal floor below them.

Tamashi finished and released a breath, looking with a hard glare at Spencer's swollen red hands. They were covered in cuts and bruises, red and irritated. The bolt remover dropped the floor and Spencer, tears streaking his cheeks from both the tear gas and the pain, spoke.

"Ow," he muttered feebly.

The attackers were relentless. The gunfire had stopped, but the boys had no doubt they were just waiting for the trio to exit the closet before they were gunned down.

Tamashi began chipping away at his arm first.

" _Agh_ ," Lachlan growled, his mouth free from his stone cage. He stretched his irritated jaw, but didn't hesitate before briskly coming over to help Tamashi. Spencer did the same, delicately holding a wrench as he carved away at the stone holding Asian's arm.

Tamashi's side and Lachlan's shoulder remained stone, sending rippled of pain through the two, they could deal with it later. Finally, Tamashi's arm was freed. He stretched his fingers and heard metal gears creak with the stress.

"Ready…?" asked Lachlan, more uncertainly than he had previously implied.

"We go Tactic 4," nodded Spencer, wiping once more at his eyes before taking point of the group.

No one argued. It was their strongest tactic. The boys had been working on it for the past 3 training sessions. May, who led their training, had decided it was best if both the girls and guys had a tactic with only their gender, in case a mission required a specific gender, or in case there was another villain like Kris.

"Three," Anguish emerged from inside of Lachlan, enveloping him in a living suit of armor. He held up his hands defensively, ready to fire at the oncoming attacker.

"Two," Tamashi prepped for teleporting.

"One," Spencer's eyes narrowed as he shoved the door open with an invisible tank, throwing it out of its hinges and well across the room.

The trio emerged right as the guns started back up.

Lachlan fired back this time, while Spencer covered the three in an invisible shield. Tamashi teleported forwards, towards the door, Spencer protecting him the whole way. He reached it just as they did, and focused, teleporting through the other side.

Outside, the hallway was busy with patrolling S.H.I.E.L.D. men and women. Unhappily, the Asian realized that the room was sound proof, not a single gunshot had been heard. "Hey!" he growled loudly as he unlocked the door and yanked hard. "Prepare your weapons!"

The squad looked at him unsurely, but his glare quickly got them to cooperate. They drew their weapons and aimed for the door. Spencer and Lachlan tumbled outwards, gunfire still erupting behind them. Nearly trampling the three, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents crowded into the Amputee Sector and fired wildly, Spencer guarding them with an exhausted blockade.

As the agents worked to track down whoever had performed the task, the three boys leaned up against the wall tiredly. They'd gained the attention of everyone in the hallway.

Spencer collapsed onto his back, while agents emerged empty handed.

"Twice," he breathed.

Tamashi raised an exhausted eyebrow.

"Someone tried to kill us twice."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Lachlan, Spencer and Tamashi's Hospital Room_

 _C.U.R.E._

 _Five Minutes Later_

"Three," Spencer grumbled from where he was sprawled out on his hospital bed. Their hospital room was now crammed with all of their closest allies: Coulson's Team, the Challengers, and Secondary Ops. "Someone tried to kill us _three_ times!"

"They didn't," pointed out Eleanor from where she was sat besides Tamashi, her arms wrapped around his waist. Marie had taken the Asian's other side, head leaning worriedly on his good shoulder.

Spencer had rested his head in Piper's lap, a sibling-like gesture, her fingers combing through his hair as Jemma examined and bandaged his bruised hands, and Annaleise sat silently at the foot of the bed. Lachlan was sitting on his own hospital bed, Pat on his left and Skylier on his right, both girls obviously worried but not daring to show it.

"But they could of," reminded Victor. He was standing in his usual place by the doorway, subtly guarding the locked door and keeping his ears attentive for any sign of intrusion. The door had been locked, the security camera turned off.

"And they might," agreed Coulson, surprising the heroes. "That's why we're sending you to a safe house."

"What?" the teens demanded simultaneously.

"We can't leave," Piper shouted in surprise, "They're injured, we're all shaken up, we can't—"

"You can't stay here," May interjected with a glare.

Coulson looked each one of them dead in the eyes.

"As of right now, S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer safe."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Beneath Caldwell Mansion_

Kris was furious. Kris was beyond furious. Kris was…a little hungry actually…

"So they're still alive?" he sighed, running one hand through his hair. He was still surprised at the drastic length change that had been required in order for him to stay unrecognized. Black hair cut short. It was very…unorganized…he disliked it. He fingered the phone in an annoyed fashion.

"Yes, they're still alive."

"And how many attempts are we at now?"

"Three."

"That won't do. That won't do at all. Three is too many. Too obvious. Too untidy. To _sloppy_."

"I'm sorry. I tried to, I really—"

"Your teammates don't know, do they S—"

"Kris, dear."

Kris lifted his head as Aeron strutted into the room proudly. She sat on his desk, crossing her legs and looked at him in a bored fashion.

"Stefans?" the voice on the phone inquired with what almost sounded like fear.

"Yes, I'm still here," he answered, understanding that Aeron very much wanted attention from him. "But I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this short."

"I—"

"That's enough from you. I'll call you when I need you. No earlier. No later. And remember, just because they're your friends doesn't mean you won't kill them."

A pause. "Yes."

"So, I shall speak with you soon?" Kris assured with a nod to himself. "Now if you would be a dear and put our good friend on the phone?"

"Yes Mr. Stefans. It was a pleasure…" the voice said with obvious disdain.

"Indeed it was," agreed Kris happily. "Now put them on the phone."

Shuffling could be heard and then a brand new voice came from somewhere far away.

"Sir?"

"Ah, yes, it's me," affirmed Kris with a devilish grin. "And how is your assignment going?"

"Fine Sir…"

"That was…unconvincing," frowned Kris, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"It's alright Sir, everything is going to plan," the voice quickly corrected.

"You haven't become connected to them, have you?"

"No Sir."

"It's the love interest then?"

"Yes Sir."

Kris felt a cruel smile creep its way onto his lips. "Well, isn't that sweet? But you should be rather careful," His eyes darkened and his tone turned malicious. "Because if I hear that so much as a _whisper_ has escaped that you work for me…" he paused. "I click my button and your little _romance novel_ will be splattered across the ceiling."

There was a long hesitant pause before:

"Yes Sir. I understand Sir. The heroes won't see age 20."

Kris scoffed. "Don't be silly." Aeron rolled her eyes, as if to say 'duh'.

"The heroes won't make it to next month."

 **WHAAATTT?! I know right? Please read all of this!**

 **SO. So much has been said and learned. Firstly, that makes THREE ATTEMPTED MURDERS. Two for the boys, one for everyone else. And now Coulson is shipping them off to a safe house! Also, you've just discovered two things about the Traitor.**

 **Firstly, it's TRAITORS! Yes! There's more than one! Now how many is the question? There could be 2, or maybe there could be 10. Who knows?**

 **On that topic.**

 **One of the traitors names started with "S—". I will say one thing: THE OC CREATOR DOES NOT KNOW THAT THEIR OC IS THE TRAITOR. IT COULD BE ANYONE'S.**

 **Who are our options, you ask? Well, we've got:**

 **Spencer (he seemed awfully forceful about getting Lach and Tamashi into that room, didn't he? And why was it that he was the only one with only one stone injury?)**

 **Skylier (she answered the call, didn't mention the assassination attempt, and then encouraged the boys to go on a tour, which could have led to their deaths)**

 **Skye (she just so happened to be around when they found that room? She said it was interesting and encouraged them to enter.)**

 **Or maybe it's an alias of some sort?**

 **Siren possibly? (She also answered the call, and she strongly disliked the idea of the team vanishing off to somewhere where there wasn't any assassins…)**

 **Strategist? (Victor doesn't talk much…what** _ **is**_ **he hiding…?)**

 **Spirit Binder? (Lana also encouraged the tour, and how did she know how to reverse the effects? It's almost like she knew what the toxin was…)**

 **Simmons? (She worked on the cure too, and she was extremely supportive of the tour.)**

 **Perhaps it's Scorch…(Emma** _ **has**_ **been gone for a while now…)**

 **OR maybe it's someone entirely new!**

 **HAHA! YOU WILL NEVER KNOW! That's 8+ candidates! Who do you guys think it is?! What can you deduct from what you learned in the chapter? (HINT: THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME THE TRAITOR HAS BEEN CLUED AT)**

 **LET ME KNOW! I love hearing from you guys!**

 **Love y'all!**

 **-AG**

 **Ps. Tamashi's Japanese "Ch'" is an expression that means 'crap' or 'damn', short for "chikusho" which is a very naughty word, readers. XD**


	6. The Pet People

Chapter 5-

 **Wowza. A new chapter. :)**

 **Now, I won't keep you waiting after all of the amazing reviews/PMs I received! Hope y'all are excited!**

 **Shall we?**

 **Warnings: the usual. Language. Violence.**

 **Note: There is a bit that is from Pat's POV. It's a little disorganized and random, that was on purpose. XD She's insane, so I figured: a unicorn here, a mention of murder there.**

 _Marie's Dormitory_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

"I don't like this," admitted Marie to Tamashi.

The two had met up in Marie's dorm, and now sat on her bed, her head on his shoulder. They'd been meeting like this a lot, she had realized, but they weren't dating…were they? No…they were just…well…they were dating without the actual dating…The two heroes' current jobs didn't allow for a night out to dinner, or a movie.

"I know," eased the Asian as the two peered across the room at an intricate painting. "But we don't have much of a choice."

"We could protest," she pointed out weakly. "I'm sure Spencer would support us. He's close enough to be your brother."

"He _is_ my brother," corrected Tamashi in usual calm tone.

"Right," agreed Marie. She got to her feet and slipped on her shoes, straightening and quietly heading for the door. "Well, we should protest is all I'm saying."

"I'll do it, if that's what you want."

She nodded once, putting her hand on the doorknob.

"You might want to give me my sweatshirt back."

Marie froze and looked down at herself. He was right. She was still wearing his maroon hoodie. "Sorry…"

"You're not very good at this whole 'secret relationship' thing are you?"

"Sorry," she repeated, beginning to take off the sweatshirt.

"No," he interrupted, pulling it back onto her. She looked at him in a confused manor. "It looks good on you."

She gave a small smile, "Thanks." She pecked him on the cheek, and his eyebrows rose. She grinned again and slipped out the door. "You're going to be late!" she called sweetly.

A familiar 'bamf' sounded and Marie turned back around only to run into a recently spotted Asian boy.

"No fair," she huffed playfully.

He smirked back, "Totally fair. Powers are always fair."

She concentrated and let out a laugh as Tamashi was lifted from his feet and moved out of her way.

"Hey!" he snapped, eyes narrowing.

"Powers are _always_ fair," she hummed, strutting past him with a wide smile, and a hint of sass.

"Touché."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Lounge_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

"We're not going," Marie stated with a sigh as she entered the room.

"What?" Pat lifted her head in curiosity.

"You heard her," clarified Tamashi as he followed her in.

What was with those two? They were getting closer than two unicorns crammed under a bed.

"Why not?" and "You can't stay," were said simultaneously by Lachlan and Piper respectively.

"If he's not going, then I'm not going," sighed Spencer, completely ignoring the question. He eyed Tamashi with a look that read 'you've got a plan, right?'. Tamashi returned with a subtle nod that Pat barely noticed (but she did).

"Guys, come on," Pat babbled enthusiastically, "We're all in this together! Remember? We said it in that song that we did."

Raised eyebrows and oblivious expressions met her gaze.

"You guys don't remember that?" she glanced around the room again. Her eyes met Lachlan's. Nope that's not Troy. She turned to Piper…huh…weird...Sharpay was gone to…And…Tamashi and Spencer seemed to have taken the places of Ryan and Chad…weird…She peered up at Victor, who was standing directly to her right. "I'm mixing up life and movies again, huh?"

He gave a frown and a nod.

"Aha," she crossed her arms. "Duly noted."

"Can we focus please?" inquired Lachlan.

"Whatever you say Troy."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay…" Lachlan said irritably. He put one hand to his temple. "So, why don't you guys want to go?"

"You heard Coulson," answered Marie. She brushed a strand of hair back from her eyes and sent her eyes to Skylier, who gave a nod of reassurance. "Naia, Daniel and that other girl are coming with."

"Her name is Johanna," Piper informed, looking bummed about the whole situation in general.

"I don't give a crap," Marie retorted less than a second later. "The point is that they all tried to kill Tamashi—" Pat sent her a look, to which she quickly added. "And Lachlan, and we can't allow that, much less live with it—er—them."

"I agree," Spencer chimed, earning looks from his teammates. "They can't be trusted."

"Someone is trying to kill us," Eleanor pointed out uneasily from where she stood loyally at Lachlan's side.

"Challengers."

All eyes turned to the door as Coulson and Hunter walked in with stern gazes. It made the back of Pat's neck tingle and she felt her Bad News Alarms go off. _BAD NEWS. BAD NEWS. BAD NEWS. UNICORN. BAD NEWS. BAD N—wait…_ Pat looked up, tuning back into reality as Coulson began speaking again.

"I've arranged for you to meet with a team of specialists in the Hangar."

"I think we've had enough medical checks, with all due respect, Sir," Lachlan said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck and casually throwing a glance at his heavily bandaged shoulder. They'd cleaned him up with some new technology. The Stroller? The…basket? Somethin like that. An invention from Korea that belonged to some doctor…Chew? Cho? Whatever.

"Then I guess you'll be happy to know that they're not doctors," Coulson responded without hesitation.

"Then…what are they?" Piper questioned, unintentionally forming fists with her hands, a habit of the Siren's.

"A protection unit."

Whines and complaints filled the room, sighs, 'aww', and excuses all mixing together with Pat's loud 'noooooooo' wail. None of them liked getting watched like children. No babysitters. That's what Pat liked. She was no child, not really an adult either, but definitely not a child. She didn't need some CIA agent watching her 24/7, tackling her when she tried to escape and ending up with a katana up his—

…

…

It was one time, okay?!

And, just for the record, he started it.

"Relax, _I_ picked them out," eased Hunter as he held up his hands. The Challengers cheered in a completely out of place style. "You all are like a bunch of sodden children." He muttered under his breath. "Put you all in a time out if I was your parents."

"You can put me in time out any day, Brit-Boy," Pat grinned, winking at him. He appeared to grow uncomfortable and confused (not unusual with Pat), and quickly changed the subject.

" _Anyways_ , only one of them is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and she's Ex-Merc," he explained with almost childlike joy. "The rest of 'em are Mercs to the heart. Coulson found a whole bloody lot of them outside New York, and I got choice to which spent time with you, I think you'll like this team."

"I'll be the judge of that," Pat informed proudly, crossing her arms.

"We all will," corrected Tamashi.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Hangar_

 _The Playground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

Victor approached the Quinjet with caution.

Five strangers were waiting on the lowered metal ramp. They all looked to be roughly 20, with a variety in clothing and appearance. It would take them an all of 5 seconds to reach the ramp, so he had little time to analyze.

The first was a taller woman with long brown hair, the color of thick mud. It was curled just the slightest, and just enough. She had tanned skin and strong cheekbones. Overall, if Victor was honest, she was gorgeous. She dressed in a skintight S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, black, resembling that of the famous Black Widow, or Maria Hill. What looked like a quiver was strapped to her back, and a bow was leaning abandoned—for the moment—against one of the Quinjet walls.

To the girl's left, leaning against his own wall, was an extremely tall—a good 3 inches taller than Victor—lanky young man with short black hair, and long bangs that had been shuffled with due to a pair of bronze and gold goggles sitting on his head. He studied them with a glare that could rival Tamashi's, or even May's. The boy was a lighter skin tone than the girl, and wore something a little more formal.

He dressed in a long sleeved white dress shirt, a long navy blue trench coat that brushed the back of his knees, and a pair of dark jeans, complimented with a swanky pair of leather boots. An expensive looking golden leather belt clung at his waist, and held a collection of knives that put Victor on alert. Looking harder, Victor noticed two twin swords peeking out over the man's shoulders.

Another young woman was sitting on one of the Quinjet seats, arms crossed and appearing to be bored out of her mind. She blew a stray long brown hair out of her eyes. Her hair—which would likely reach past her elbows when released—was pulled strictly back in a ponytail, and fringe skimmed her eyes. She wore a similar getup as the first girl, but instead a black t-shirt and jeans with a navy hoodie, the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo printed on the breast. Victor couldn't see a single weapon on the girl, making him uneasy.

Off more to the right stood two young men, that both shared age with the others.

The first was a young man of about the same height as Victor. He had darker skin and almond shaped eyes that reminded Victor of himself, as they scanned over everyone approaching. His black hair had been cut short, close to his scalp, and he was dressed in a black bomber jacket and darker jeans and boots. The S.H.I.E.L.D. logo was pressed into the right sleeve, on the bicep, and he subtly fingered a gun at his leg.

Behind him, slightly further to the right, was a just barely younger man with black hair skimming the bottom of his neck, but pushed out of his face. He looked more curious than accusative, wide-ish eyes looking over the heroes thoughtfully. Black stud and silver ring piercings lined his ears. He had on a hoodless wine red jacket and black combat pants formed his outfit, along with a pair of black converse and black and white striped fingerless gloves. A black cat—Victor quirked an eyebrow—was perched on the young man's shoulder, casually grooming a paw.

Victor quickly analyzed.

The first woman, the Archer, had set her bow off to the side, but not far enough to be out of reach. She had hastily checked her reflection in one of the metal walls as the Challengers had approached. She was trying to make a good impression, and not seem to threatening. That didn't mean she wasn't ready to attack at any point.

The first man, the lanky one, was darker and…partially unreadable. He obviously had dark history, or he would've been more trusting. Victor had easily spotted the man's family crest poking out on the man's collarbone, so that meant some sort of cult or creed in the family. He had more weapons than any of them, and could probably easily take out them all. So the creed or cult was likely not friendly.

Then there was the second woman. Victor was uncomfortable about her. He felt like she knew something. Something she shouldn't know, or didn't realize she knew, but knew nonetheless. She had no weapons, so she must be confident in her abilities, but the emergency gun was two feet away and within reach, and she hadn't eyed it once, so Victor got the feeling she wasn't very confident in her weaponry skills.

And then there was the other two.

The first was obviously highly trained. He had the stock stature of a soldier, although maybe not belonging to the government, probably belonging to something illegal or under the radar. He was one of the strongest, and most muscular in the group of five and easily the most experienced in missions with other people. While both women, and the first man seemed uncomfortable or wary to be meeting the newcomers, he had been trained to cover his emotion.

The final boy was most likely the youngest, but…Victor studied him again. Definantly not the most unexperienced however, albeit the youngest. He was unusual and mysterious, and Victor was getting mixed alerts from him. The one thing he could tell was that this man and the soldier man shared some sort of connection. They'd been holding hands when the group had entered the hangar, although they had stopped now, apparently not wanting to show that weakness yet.

5 seconds was up.

" _Hola_ ," greeted the brown haired Archer woman. " _Me llamo_ Agent Maria Cortez, level 7, Superior Officer of Task Force 0, Codename: Imitator." She gave a warm smile. A strong Spanish accent coated her words and Victor narrowed his eyes, other languages weren't his thing. Lachlan took her hand and shook it as the rest of the Challengers gathered around to meet the group.

"Task Force 0?" asked Eleanor with raising confusion.

"That's us," nodded Maria. She turned halfway, peering back into the Quinjet. "This is Denzel Schäfer. Codename: Red Bird." She gestured to the weapons man leaning against the wall. He paced down the ramp at a steady pace and stopped halfway down, giving an eerie smile. Victor heard a few of the team gasp as they caught sight of his pointed canines.

A vampire then? Victor pondered the thought. No…not a vampire…the sunlight was everywhere in the hangar, and unless Victor's information was completely off—which it never was—this man was not a vampire.

"Please," the man hissed with sarcasm, "If we're getting all friendly, call me Yael."

Oh marvelous. A creepier, angrier version of Kris.

"Up there is Ivy Mayeton. Codename: Ghost."

The girl in the more relaxed getup stood from her seat in the Quinjet, still not snatching the gun Victor noticed, and made her way to the bottom of the ramp, standing at Maria's side and examining the Challengers with wary suspicion.

"Pleasure," she stated impartially. She sounded as though she couldn't care less what they thought of her, and yet she also knew more about them than they ever could.

"The man who's stiffer than a statue is Evan Cooper, Codename: Hybrid," Maria sent a smile up at the dark skinned boy. He seemed to relax and gave a slight smile in return.

Victor narrowed his eyes. Hybrid, huh? So he changed his appearance somehow. A hybrid creature. Or maybe hybrid abilities, two combined abilities. Victor would find out eventually.

"Like you're much better," he teased as he walked down to the rest of the group, the final remaining young man trailing at his heels. He cupped a hand to the side of his mouth and leaned towards the group, like he was sharing a secret. "On the field she's like a freaking robot." Friendly. Alright. Victor could work with this.

This received good reactions from the heroes, Victor even humored himself into cracking a smile.

"And that's Astaroth Briar, Codename: Kismet. Boyfriends con Evan."

"You can say 'Roth', if it's easier to remember," assured Roth with a soft shrug. He spoke in a calm tone, like the voice Dr. Strange had used when they'd met, wise and all-seeing, even though the man was barely older than Victor.

Eleanor's eyes brightened. "Like Ryloth!" she marveled.

Roth raised an eyebrow.

"Aw, come on…" Eleanor raised her eyebrows and gave a 'duh' face. "Star Wars!"

Victor knew the younger girl was touchy about the subject, but it was good to see her opening up.

"I'm sure you can introduce me to the topic," Roth convinced, earning a flurry of nods from a very excited Eleanor.

"Oh, ah," Lachlan spoke up unreadily, "Lachlan Butler. I go by Anguish on the field."

"Piper Dawn Harpers. Siren."

"Spencer Cassidy. Psyox."

"Psyox?" Yael gave a mocking look.

Spencer scowled defensively. "Mind of a psychic, strength of an ox."

Yael didn't argue.

"Eleanor May Hayes. Glow."

"Tamashi Kinzoku. Kensaku."

"Unicorn Blitz!"

"Pat…"

Pat sighed. "Pat Coren. Death."

"Points for creativity," Ivy frowned.

"Why thank you my good lady," Pat performed a mini bow.

"Annaleise Callen. Deity."

"Marie Peters. Phantom."

"Skylier Knight. Black Knight."

Everyone turned to Victor.

He looked all of the newcomers over once more before saying, "Agent Victor Valentine. Strategist."

"Ten of you, then?" rechecked Evan, crossing his arms and returning to his agent stature.

"Ten," agreed Piper with a small nod. "Well…plus three more…"

"Naia, Daniel and Johanna, right?" Maria sighed. "Yea, they're already onboard. Director Coulson brought them in earlier."

Victor peered back up at the Quinjet. Sure enough, the small containment room had a blinking red light on the control panel, signifying that it was occupied. The room was decently comfortable, a sofa, television and bed placed inside. S.H.I.E.L.D. were decent people, they didn't torture people—unless they were world class murders. At which point the television was taken away. So yea, Naia, Daniel and Johanna were in a television-less room.

"Well, if that's everyone…"

Yael turned heel and stalked back up the ramp. Pat and Tamashi tagged along with him, Pat beginning what Victor assumed was going to be a long talk about katanas, while Tamashi eyed Yael's katanas with a mischievous glint in his eye. Victor reminded himself to keep an eye on the Asian, and assure that Yael's swords never disappeared, although he doubted Yael wouldn't notice.

Ivy turned next, and Marie and Skylier took either side around her to ask her questions, and introduce themselves properly, finding interest in the fact that she carried no weapons.

Astaroth began his entrance and Eleanor was the first to bounce along after him, bombarding him with facts about Star Wars. Spencer quickly tagged along, trying to calm her down and keep it at a 'one fact per second' boundary.

Evan followed his boyfriend up the ramp and Victor began walking, Annaleise jumped after him. She probably found his maturity interesting, while Victor's attention caught on his obvious training.

Maria followed them up, Lachlan and Piper asking her about leadership, or so Victor assumed. Well, no, Lachlan inquired about leadership, while Piper demanded how Maria had gotten her hair so perfect, earning a laugh from the agent.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Quinjet 43_

 _Mid-Flight_

As they neared their destination, Eleanor looked up excitedly at the couple sitting to her left. She'd never met a gay couple before, and she wasn't sure what she thought. She didn't dislike it or anything, she just hadn't gotten the chance to meet one earlier. Hydra didn't like romantic connections. She had seen them split up a couple by literally _splitting_ them. Max and Vermillion. She remembered them.

Conversation filled the small back of the plane like comfortable rain. Victor and Maria were piloting the plane, but they were the only ones missing.

"Um…why do you have a cat here…?"

Aster…Astro…Astroth…Aster…. _Roth_ looked down at her, blinking his brown eyes. The black cat perched on his shoulder casually, peering down at Eleanor like a Queen on her throne.

She found it strange, having a cat just sitting there like it was a normal thing. He reached up and scratched the black cat between the ears, it purred by continued blinking at Eleanor curiously with bright green eyes. She smiled and then looked across the small space. Marie and Skylier had taken to either side of Yael, which he didn't seem all that happy about, but it wasn't that that caught her eye.

It was the black and white husky with jade green eyes. It looked up at her when it noticed she was staring, and she turned back to the cat.

"You guys like pets?" she continued with a head tilt. "Are you...pet people...?"

Evan laughed from Roth's other side. "Those two do. The rest of us? It's debatable."

"Please," scoffed Roth, he elbowed Evan, while his cat gave a small hiss. "You love her."

"No, _you_ love her. I tolerate her."

"Well, I like her," Eleanor stated, glancing at the cat and finding it unusual when the cat seemed to nod in approval.

"Oh good," Roth nodded at Eleanor with a smile. "At least someone in here has some common sense."

Evan rolled his eyes.

"Grumpy," Roth sing-songed, gazing innocently around the room.

"No I'm not," snapped Evan almost immediately. "I'm just…"

"Grumpy," hummed Roth simply. Eleanor grinned.

"You _are_ a little grumpy…" she muttered quietly, smiling mischievously.

"Hey!" Evan grumbled. "I am _not_ grumpy."

"Yes you are," Roth assured him. "It's because Maria woke you up early, isn't it?"

"You know I don't like— _Er_ —No it's not. I'm not grumpy," answered Evan.

"Uh huh."

Meanwhile, Eleanor had gotten distracted by the cat again. It was almost humanly, seeming to study her and consider liking her or not. Eleanor nearly jumped from her skin when the slick feline leapt from Roth's shoulder and onto her lap. The cat held up her head and Eleanor took the hint, copying Roth and scratching her between the ears.

"Her name is Venin," informed Roth carefully.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "Is that a…?" She had no idea. It kinda sounded like a country Skye had mentioned…Venice?

"It's French for venom," answered Roth with a small smile.

"Huh," Eleanor stroked the cat again. Venin didn't seem so bad. Not venomous anyways…right?

"And that's Winter," both Yael and the husky perked up as Evan spoke the name and pointed to the dog. "He's more friendly than Venin…"

"No he's not," Roth fussed with a glare sent in the dog's direction. Not helping the situation, Venin then proceeded to hiss at Evan. Eleanor tried not to laugh as she saw Yael mirror the expression towards Roth. She had a feeling Yael might snap her in two if she slipped a giggle.

Evan nodded, and then, in a mocking tone, "Uh huh."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Office_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

As it turns out, the safe house was a literal hillside house in the middle of nowhere, nicknamed Turf. It was a rather large mansion with everything Eleanor could imagine: a pool, a collection of flat screens, massive windows, large closets and luxury king sized beds. Oh and rooms galore.

But the place wasn't as nice at it sounded, as Piper quickly realized.

The massive windows were made of thick bullet proof glass, and the large closets had secret compartments for weaponry. The king sized beds each came with a knife under the pillow. To be honest, if not for the imminent danger, this would almost be an overly-protected vacation.

Except, Piper wasn't focusing on the luxuries and protection units. She was focusing on the screen in front of her. The laptop screen. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Search Program. She had gone up to her room while the others had started watching Star Wars, per Eleanor's request. A small blinking password screen popped up, rather reluctantly she typed in her answer:

 **Name** : Siren

 **Password** : p1p3r-d wn-h rp3r5

She entered it and the screen changed to a search bar, the words 'Welcome Siren' in white lettering above it. 'Click to search' had been imprinted faintly in the search bar.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Search Program was a worldwide search network that sifted through everything, and she meant _everything_. Think Google on a government scale. FBI, CIA, White House, any files from anywhere were at her fingertips. You pass Level 6 and you gain access. Piper was a level 6 because of joining the Challengers.

Clicking the search bar in the middle of the screen, she typed:

 **Maria Cortez**

Billions of files came up, most of them irrelevant, and Piper scanned through them, her eyes flicking around the screen. She sat comfortably on her bed, legs crossed, laptop in lap, and absolutely no rush. A video was revealed, Maria obvious in the picture. She clicked it and it began playing. It was short, no more than 10 seconds.

Security feed of some sort, most likely S.H.I.E.L.D.

 _Maria walked through the cruise ship hallway, making her way to the bathroom. She wore a baggy suit and a glanced over her shoulder cautiously. Her face was stone still and determined, a gun poked out under her belt._

 _She entered the women's bathroom._ Piper furrowed her brows in confusion, but her eyes went wide. The video cam switched to inside of the bathroom. _Maria stopped, checking each of the stalls, and abruptly her features began to shift and morph._ It didn't look disturbing or anything, it was almost smooth, like changing a coat. _A second later, a man emerged wearing the same suit. His hair was shaggy and blonde, and he had a strong jawline._ "Maria's a…" Piper whispered to herself. "…She's a shapeshifter." The pieces started to click together. 'Imitator'. She imitated people.

Piper exited out and clicked the next link.

 **S.H.I.E.L.D. DATA FILE**

 **NAME:** _ **Maria Cortez**_

 **D.O.B.:** _ **January 3, 1996**_

 **HAIR COLOR:** _ **Brown/Varies**_

 **EYE COLOR:** _ **Brown/Varies**_

 **Weight:** _ **130 lbs/Varies**_

 **Height:** _ **5' 7" / Varies**_

Piper frowned. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Okay, so she was the one Hunter had spoken of. But why would she work with the others? Closing out of the screen, the Siren returned to the search bar.

 **Yael Schäfer**

Nothing. Absolutely nothing came up.

 **Schäfer**

The screen near exploded from the mass of files. Many were private files, all in a separate language. Piper spotted Latin, and then Russian, and some German. It was some new language that she was unaware of. Clicking the nearest file, Piper marveled at the headline and clicked the translate button as soon as it was available.

' **Arcanum Schäfer Filijis: quasi hominibus lamia amet. Periculo Campester: X** ' quickly translated to: "Mysterious Schäfer Clan: documented vampire-like humans. Danger Level: 10"

Piper raised an eyebrow. 'Vampire-like humans'? Danger Level 10…

Clicking the closest video, she watched in horror.

 _Yael crept out of the alleyway darkly. He gave a whistle and put his hands in his pockets, a demonic grin creeping onto his face. "You can come out now…I know you Tenebris don't enjoy the light…"_

 _Yael turned, his smile fast fading as a man walked into the picture._

" _Schäfer has offended we, Tenebris, with your mocking actions," the man said in a gravelly voice._

" _Yes, well, you shouldn't send a wimpy little scumbag to us and expect him not to get killed…"_

" _His name is—_ was _Amicus and you didn't_ kill _him, you cut him open and hung him by his ankles from my windowsill." snarled the man. "While we mourned our lost brother, you laughed at his corpse!"_

Piper paused the video. He was a killer. They had killers, sure. Pat had done her wrongs. Piper had no doubt that Victor had killed, and Daedre had fought in a universal _war_. But none of them had a sadistic smile, eerie fangs or gave off the feeling that they wanted to kill you on sight.

Giving herself chills, the Siren quickly backspaced before typing in the next words.

 **Ivy Mayeton**

A collection of long headlines and articles immediately popped up on the screen. The first read: **POLITICIAN'S DAUGHTER MEETS PRESIDENT**

Piper clicked and skimmed it briskly.

 **POLITICIAN'S DAUGHTER MEETS PRESIDENT**

 **February 12, 2010**

 **Early this morning Ivy Isabelle Mayeton, the 14 year old daughter of Ulysses and Caria Mayeton [See:** _ **Top 10 Political Figures**_ **for more], met with President Barack Obama in the front lawn of the family's mansion. After complimenting the President's suit, the lovely young lady proceeded to..**

Piper quit reading. She clicked the next article and furrowed her brows at the drastic changes.

 **POLITICIAN'S DAUGHTER CONFESSED MADNESS – CHAOS CONTINUES**

 **October 3, 2012**

 **Multiple times was politician's daughter Ivy Isabelle Mayeton accused of holding the X-Gene. Other accusations include sorcery, bewitchery and even one account of demonic relations. While both Ulysses and Caria Mayeton assured that their daughter "has no relations to anything abnormal. Multiple tests have been run, all coming back negative." A local teenager, and close friend of Mayeton, revealed to authorities early last week that he not only had proof Mayeton has superhuman abilities, but that she had admitted to it on tape.**

 **New this morning, the teen—whose name is still unrevealed by the authorities—has now admitted both of Mayeton's parents have been unaware of their daughter's abilities, and claims Mayeton admitted not planned on telling them.**

 **Mr. and Mrs. Mayeton have agreed to appear in their 3** **rd** **press conference this week.**

Piper cocked her head. Ivy was a criminal too? No. Not a criminal…a victim…? This team was becoming a knot in Piper's head. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, a killer, a victim…working together…Piper was beginning to wonder what could possibly be next.

She reluctantly tapped the keys.

 **Evan Cooper**

The hero jerked back with alarm when the screen immediately opened to a video. Piper clenched up as the video played and a lion was shown mauling three men. The lion suddenly morphed, legs shrinking and mane vanishing until a strong horse was left. The horse slammed it's head into a man, and Piper heard bones crack through her earbuds. The horse proceeded to slam the man into the ground, ignoring his pleas of mercy. The horse morphed again and a mutated monkey took its place. The monkey held the claws of a tiger and the fangs of a snake. Attacking once again, another man fell with terrified shrieks.

The monkey stood panting, surrounded by corpses, lakes of blood over the cement floor of what looked like a warehouse. The monkey changed and Piper held back a gag as Evan was revealed, soaked to the teeth in other people's blood. He took a step forwards, stumbled and then fell into the crimson pools, unconscious.

There was 2 minutes remaining, but Piper had seen enough. He was a monster. A beast. A _creature_.

Her hands were shaking as she typed in the final name, scared of what she would find. This had been a mistake. Piper felt like she had to bleach her eyeballs. She shakily tapped the keys and let out a breathy sigh as the name searched.

 **Astaroth Briar**

Nothing.

There was _nothing_.

Not a thing.

No police arrests. No criminal charges. No murder videos. No horrifying secrets. Not even a dental record. No receipts. No driver's license. What the freaking hell?

Piper reentered the name. She tried everything. ' **Astaroth** '. No. ' **Roth** '. No. ' **Briar, Astaroth** '. Nothing. There was nothing! Piper nearly shrieked, but managed to stop herself before the high pitched frequency destroyed the screen.

"It doesn't make any sense…"

She muttered, tangling her fingers in her hair and resting her elbows on the desktop angrily.

Why in the world would someone get rid of everything about themselves? Not only that, why would they get rid of everything and then join a team of agents? Why on Earth would Astaroth want to join the team?!

She would find out. Piper was determined. She wanted to know more about this man, know who was protecting (or trying to kill) her. She would figure him out. She needed help. She wouldn't tell anyone. Not yet. Not until she was sure something was going on.

Maybe he was just paranoid? Maybe. She gave a long sigh.

The Agent.

The Killer.

The Victim.

The Animal.

The Mystery.

She had a lot of work to do.

 **Not my best cliff-hanger but I hope it got you guys thinking. Any ideas on who the Assassin is?** _ **Is**_ **it one of the protection squad? Or is it one of the Challengers? What about the mysterious facility that hasn't been mentioned lately? Or Kris's allies? Or Kris? Or S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or even Hydra?**

 **I'd love to hear theories. OH AND TAMARIE HAS SAILED. DUNNO HOW THAT HAPPENED! IT JUST CAME OVER ME! Plus the High School Musical comparison has been made. XD And those new characters though!**

 **So, here's the rightful disclaimer:**

 **The Agent, the Imitator,** **Maria Cortez** **belongs to a very close friend and inspiration,** _ **MockingClove**_

 **The Killer, the Red Bird,** **Denzel "Yael" Schäfer** **belongs to a longtime friend, a DC lover,** _ **BirdsSpeedandArrows**_

 **The Victim, the Ghost,** **Ivy Mayeton** **belongs to the ever-dedicated reader, and super sweet person,** _ **LadyMorganaPendragon**_

 **The Animal, the Hybrid,** **Evan Cooper** **belongs to the longtime reader, the super supportive, hilarious** _ **OfeliaSevil**_

 **And of course, the Mystery, the Kismet,** **Astaroth Briar** **belongs to yours truly (how else could I make him such a wild card? :))**

 **SO, any theories? What do you want to see happen? Who do you ship? (Very happy to say we have our first GAY COUPLE! Never written a gay couple, always wanted to, plus I'm a serious Gay Rights supporter, so I thought I'd give it a go, and OfeliaSevil was onboard, so why not?! X))**

 **LET ME KNOW YOUR THEORIES AND OPINIONS!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly loves reviews. X)**

 **Thanks to everyone who dropped a review last time (LOVE YOU! HEARTS HEARTS!)**

 **See y'all next time!**

 **-AG**

 **Ps. I'm going on vacation up in the north woods for a week, but fear not, I will have Wifi! So I'll try to update, but if I don't, sorry bout that. I'll do my best. :)**

 **PPS: GO CHECK OUT THE AWESOME (REVISED) SONG SUBMITTED BY AOSISMYLIFE (on my profile) IT IS AMAZING! AND PERFECT! (to AOSISMYLIFE: I love this song now! It's PERFECT!)**

 **Okay, signing off. :)**


	7. Blood, Crushes, Crashes and Pie

Chapter 6-

 **Oy vey. You all are so freaking nice it'll break my freaking heart (at which point I'll duct tape it back together and keep writing XD). So! Another shout out to** _ **challengerlover**_ **for being super supportive, your comment brought a smile to my face and made my year. :) Another shout out to VBallPanda, creator if Pat, whose been super supportive in the real world (not that I oppose the virtual one XD)!**

 **Sorry for the one day delay, I lost internet for a bit and I was busy most of yesterday.**

 **Important notice: This chapter will be explaining how Task Force 0 met, and why they were hired, etc. :) I hope you all find it enjoyable, if you don't then I apologize, but it was necessary to up the mystery. ;)**

 **The usual warnings (language and violence, GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS). Oh, and a warning for mentioned nudity, but I don't write M so it's not inappropriate or anything, and there's no smut.**

 **Shall we?**

 _Mures_

 _Downtown New York_

 _3 Weeks Ago_

"Your warehouse sucks!" growled Yael Schäfer loudly.

 _Ai_ , these idiots were getting on his nerves. First they snatch him just like Tenebris did 2 years ago, then they chain him to a chair and beat him every day. Some message they're trying to send. Beating up the leader of an opposing clan is definitely a mistake.

The Mures Clan was really just a bunch of assholes that thought they were the coolest thing since Shakespeare. God, the poor suckers. They thought they had him good, didn't they? What a bunch of sad sacks. Sad soon-to-be-dead sacks. You don't mess with his Clan. There was a reason Schäfer was the best, even Tenebris knew that. Tenebris. Geesh. Bigger jerks than Mures. Smarter, definitely smarter, but meaner.

Giving an almost _bored_ sigh, Yael tensed his arms, yanking tightly on the chains. He felt them weaken considerably. Another strong tug and a link snapped, releasing the chains. Yael scoffed, standing up and stretching his sore arms. He'd let the Mures have their fun for a good few days, and it'd earned him some bruises. The scars and cuts had already healed, while he couldn't get rid of the big stuff, his accelerated healing dissipated the smaller.

"Yo! Mures! Come and get me!" he shouted, holding his arms above his head. "For God's sake. What the hell does it take to get some idiots around here?" he muttered to the empty room. Stalking over to the nearest metal wall, he pounded his fist on it angrily. "Come on assholes!"

The door opened with a loud screech and Yael rolled his eyes. "'Bout damn time."

The door closed behind her, locking shut, as it could only get opened from the outside. Yael figured the warehouse must've been sound proof or something, because the woman who stepped in looked completely oblivious to his banging. A woman stood at the door with a lunch tray in her hand. Her eyes widened and she dropped the tray with a clatter and a gasp.

"Whoo boy," chuckled Yael. He cracked his knuckles and gave a grin as the younger lady chirped in fear. "You're new here, aren't you? Yea, I bet you're pretty freaked out, huh?"

Walking towards her at a leisurely pace, Yael smirked fondly. The lady pressed herself against the wall, her hand rapping on it anxiously. "Not gonna lie, you've got the right to be." He admitted to. "Because, here's the the thing sweetheart, I simply cannot let you leave this room with all of your body parts in tact…or with your heart still beating, for that matter."

The woman paled and Yael, moving with speed like lightning, jabbed his fingers into her throat. Blood sprayed across his face and he grinned, swiping his tongue over his lips. Mm. Nothing like fresh blood to wake you up in the morning. Something—who the hell knows what?—met Yael's fingers and he yanked it quickly out of the woman's neck. She gurgled, collapsing onto the floor and convulsing.

"Now darling," he said gently, crouching down by her head. "You wouldn't know where I could find my swords, would you?"

She choked, clawing at the bloody mess of her neck.

"Hmm, I'll take that as a no," carelessly nudging her out of the way, he stepped over the choking woman and slammed his fist into the lock of the door. Something shattered in the lock and Yael opened it easily. Lucky for him, the door opened outwards, not inwards. That would have been a terrible hassle.

"Ah, hello," Yael gave another fang-lined smirk as he met a muscular man patrolling outside. Blood from the woman inside leaked out from inside the door and the man eyed it before raising his weapon. Yael made jazz hands. "Ooh, _scary_."

The man had one helluva beer belly, and a mustache that could rival a squirrel's tail. Yael shoved the gun to the left as it fired, and jabbed a fist into the man's gut. He fell to his knees almost humorously and Yael snatched the gun, slamming it into the man's face. Something crunched and Yael continued bringing the butt of the gun down, red spattering over his clothing. Ugh. He'd have to clean the shirt now. Fuck.

Ah, well, it was worth it. Yael wiped his lips with his tongue again. He loved that. It tasted bitter, metallic, pleasurable. His sister found it unhealthy, saying he should just kill them and leave the corpses be, but he begged to differ. He was no vampire, but blood had something nice about it.

"'Scuse me, Mustache, but I've gotta go," he walked past the plump corpse and made his way down the hall. Some warehouse this was. Oh! Finally!

Two muscular men, fit to be body builders, stood between him and the exit.

"What? Four people? Bit disappointing," Yael admitted with slight disappointment.

"Jaggard," one of the two men hissed in a Russian accent, turning to the second man. "Call _Pulicem_ , tell him the little shit from Schäfer has escaped."

"Oi…" Yael grumbled, offended that they acted like he wasn't there. "Standing right here…"

'Jaggard' pulled out a phone and clicked away, his fingers like freaking sausages on the keys. The second guy, Yael decided to call him Meat Head, lunged at Yael with arms the size of basketballs. Yael easily ducked.

Meat Head swung a meaty fist and Yael winced as it connected with his side. He then grinned, slamming his own fist into Meat Head's jaw and sending the man onto his back.

"What the hell?" the man growled. "I keel you!"

"Yes, yes, whatever satisfies your underactive mind," scoffed Yael. "You can 'keel' me after I 'keel' you. Alright Ham Head?"

"Why you little—I keel your family! I keel Schäfer!"

"Yes, well, whatever you say."

Yael slammed his foot into the man's windpipe. Meat Head grabbed his ankle and something crunched. Yael snarled in pain and brought his other foot up. "Now you're in for it, asshole!" he slammed his free foot down on Meat Head's nose. Another sickening crackle and the jerk let out a loud—satisfyingly girlish—scream, bringing his hands to the disgusting mess of blood and bone that remained.

"How long does it take you to make a phone call?" Yael turned around to find Jaggard running at him with a baseball bat held high. "Oh for—" he easily flipped Jaggard over his head, sending him onto his brother. Yael swiped the baseball bat with ease. "You shouldn't have brought this." He sighed.

All it took was four good swings and Jaggard and Meat Head were no more.

"Oh, so you did manage to make that phone call…" realized Yael as he scrolled through Jaggard's phone. He had a call to make, and it wasn't like Jaggard needed it. "Calling your mother? You are way too old for that..." he raised an eyebrow at the deformed carcass, pulling a metal chair (that Meat Head had previously been sitting on) over with a loud screech. He popped down. "Or… _were_ too old for that."

"Hello?" he said into the phone. "Yes. I can assure you Mures is gone. Have I proven myself yet? I grow bored of these exercises. I really don't need a team. I can assassinate them myself. What do you mean S.H.I.E.L.D. is—What asshole gave away my loca—I don't care! I agreed to finish this job for you, you should get S.H.I.E.L.D. off my tail! I—"

The door to the outside world opened and a shorter man stepped in, eyebrow raised.

"Well then," Yael grumbled, a bored expression finding its way to his face. "Unfortunately they're already here. Unless this is one of yours? No? Then it's S.H.I.E.L.D. I'll call you after I figure out what they want. Oh do shut up. I'm killing people for you, not saving the world."

"Denzel Schäfer?" the man asked almost politely. He had his gun drawn and Yael held back from laughing. He was admittedly a handsome guy, with stubble on his chin and buzz cut hair. Strong British accent, that was for sure. Yael didn't answer, narrowing his eyes. The man holstered his weapon.

"Agent Lance Hunter, S.H.I.E.L.D. The Director sent me to recruit you for an assignment."

"Which would be of what interest to me, exactly?"

"It's a protection assignment."

"Yawn," Yael rolled his eyes. "I have better things to occupy my time with."

"It's simple. A month tops."

"Not interested," Yael stood, muttering to himself about the blood staining his nice leather boots. He stalked past Lance, handle on the door.

"Say yes and you'll get 20 Mil."

Yael stopped, peering back over his shoulder. His black bangs shuffled into his eyes and he was quick to flick them out, wine red eyes sparking with interest. " _20 Mil?_ " he repeated.

"You heard me," agreed the Brit.

"Who am I protecting?" Yael disliked the idea, but he admittedly had nothing else to do this month. A few more kills, but nothing important. He could assassinate the Mayor another day.

"The Challengers. A six person team of superheroes. Plus three villains, two of them enhanced."

"Sounds interesting. I've heard of the Challengers before. They're the teenagers, aren't they?"

"Yep."

"Hmph," Yael frowned. He disliked children. They were loud and obnoxious and flooded with hormones. "Must be a damn good assassin if your little clubhouse is willing to pay 20 Mil for one mercenary. An assassin _my_ level."

"That's the point. Hopefully a decently sized team can bring us enough time to track the assassin down."

"Has he killed anyone yet?"

"The assassin? No. The idiotic bloke hasn't managed it, although they've seriously injured three of the members. We'd like to keep it at a zero death count."

"Figures," scoffed Yael. "Alright. For 20 Mil."

"You should know you'll be working with a bloody team."

"I figured as much. As long as they aren't idiots."

"Good, they're not," Hunter turned and joined him at the door.

"Oh," Yael added as the two left the corpses behind. "And I'll have to pick up my dog first."

"…dog?"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy Dormitories_

 _Dorm 129_

 _3 Weeks Ago_

 _Maria Cortez screamed as the hideous humanoid alien crashed through the glass doors to the restaurant. Another followed it in and together the two began firing purple bolts of energy at tables and people. Men and women cried out, singed holes burned into their bodies as they took their last breaths._

 _Maria cried out as her father was thrown backwards, clutching his chest. She threw a fork at the alien in mad fear and it screamed at her with a gravelly caw. It lifted its weapon and fired again. Maria turned._

" _Mom!" the 16 year old shrieked. But Maria's mother was dead before she hit the ground, her heart had been burned away, eyes wide and mouth agape._

 _Maria felt tears flee her eyes and she jumped under a booth, sobbing as the alien neared. She was the only one still alive in this restaurant. It had been her mother's birthday. They had agreed to eat out. A nice day out in the Big Apple. And now._

 _A claw-like foot crushed tile and a loud whir sounded as the gun recharged. Maria curled in on herself, pulling her knees up and pressing herself away from the alien. It ripped the table away, throwing it behind itself._

 _And just as Maria felt it was the end, a red, white and blue shield jammed into the alien's head, spurting oily dark blood at Maria. Maria gasped, sobs wracking her body. A muscular man snatched the shield from the dead alien's head and slammed it full force into the second. He grabbed his shield again and jogged over to Maria._

" _Come on soldier, on your feet," the man ordered. He was clad in blue. And—Holy crap. It was Captain America. He set both hands on her shoulders and she looked at him anxiously, completely positive this was some sort of insane dream. "I need you to get to the nearest building and head to the basement. Can you do that for me?"_

 _She nodded and she did. While Captain America saved the world, she ran to the next building and mourned her parents. And when—_

Maria woke with a start. God. Flashbacks. She hated them. And S.H.I.E.L.D. dorms smelled kinda crappy, which was unpleasant to wake up to.

"You okay, Maria?"

"Fine Stace'," answered Maria. Enter Stacy Jenkins, dorm mate, close friend, bit of a nerd. She was studying to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. engineer.

"M'kay," Maria heard Stacy adjust in the top bunk. Meanwhile, she flung her legs off the edge of her bunk and scrubbed her face with her hands, giving a long sigh. She snatched her watch off the bed stand.

"It's almost 6."

"Already?" Stacy grumbled. "Fine…" she shuffled and a minute later her feet popped over the edge, toes painted indigo blue.

Maria got to her feet and pulled off her top, putting on a new one. She would shower after training. She slipped her S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit on over her t-shirt and shorts and tied her hair up.

"Hey M," Stacy cooed from the top bunk.

"No, Stacy."

"Please, just once!"

"Fine…"

Maria took a deep breath and released. She grinned as she felt her body shift into someone else's. A happy smile formed as she heard Stacy mutter 'holy shit'. "Ta da."

"Agent Hill, ma'am!" Stacy laughed, saluting.

The perk of super powers. It was nice, being able to shape your appearance on command. The trick was that she could only shift to someone she saw, in person or otherwise. If she hadn't seen them than consider it out of the options.

"Agent, what're you doing in bed! Up and at 'em!" God. Agent Hill would never say that. Ah, well, still enjoyable.

"Yes ma'am! Sorry ma'am!" Stacy was still chuckling as she clambered down to the carpeted floor, getting into her own jumpsuit.

Moments later the two girls crowded into the small bathroom, Maria back in her own body. Maria stuck her toothbrush into her mouth, brushing furiously. She had 15 minutes to get across the building to her training. Yay.

"So, any men in your class, huh, Mini Maria Hill?" teased Stacy.

"Eh, there're a few," she admitted.

"Okay, any _men_ ," Stacy's eyebrows went wild, wiggling up and down.

"Oh God, you've got to be kidding me," Maria rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for that kind of thing."

"Uh huh," Stacy smirked. "You're telling me that you don't have time for a sexy man?"

"Yes," she answered confidently.

"Psh. You're no fun."

"Get out. I gotta pee," Maria grumbled, herding her friend out of the bathroom.

Stacy stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Maria leaned on the sink, continuing to brush her teeth. She didn't actually have to pee. Stacy was just bothersome at times. She peered into the mirror fondly. Pearly white teeth stared her back. White toothpaste foam filled her mouth and she spat it into the sink.

"You liar!"

Maria cocked an eyebrow. What the hell? She opened the door. "Stacy what're you—? Um…"

Leaning against their doorframe, arms crossed, was a tall boy with rugged bluish black hair and narrowed blood red eyes. He scoffed in a bored manor and raised an eyebrow at Stacy's serious blushing session. Maria frowned, toothbrush paused mid-brush. She glanced back at Stacy, who was fanning herself with her hand. She cupped a hand over one side of her mouth, so the young man couldn't see what she was saying.

 _Smokin!_ She mouthed.

Maria scowled and turned back to the man. She turned around and spat in the sink, leaving her toothbrush on the counter and wiping her mouth hastily. Maria marched forwards, grabbing the man by the arm and closing the door behind her.

"Take your time, lovebirds!" called Stacy from inside.

Maria looked back up at the young man to see him smirking, sharp fangs shining down at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she shoved brought her arm up to his throat, emergency knife in hand, and held it to his throat. Sneak attack training wasn't unusual, so no one paid them any mind.

"Trust me, if it was up to me, I wouldn't be here," he answered, voice elegant and prideful.

Maria was disgusted by his attitude. "Who the hell are you?" she pressed the knife closer, drawing a drop of blood.

"Yael Schäfer, mercenary and assassin," he answered, smirk fading. "Now I suggest you release me, sweetheart, or it is going to be a terrible day for you and your friend."

Maria's eyebrows furrowed and she brought the knife back, sheathing it. Yael stood up a bit straighter. He swiped his thumb over the small scratch on his neck, and licked the blood off of his thumb lightly. Maria's face twisted in disliking.

"Can I help you with something?" she finally gritted out.

"Yes, in fact, you can," he agreed, putting both hands behind his back and titling his head a bit. Maria took note of the two swords buckled to a sheath on his back. "Apparently, the director of this… _fine establishment…_ " he looked around with a grimace. "Finds interest in your talents."

"What?" Maria gaped. "The Director of _S.H.I.E.L.D._ wants me on an assignment?"

"That is what I just—"

"What's the assignment?"

"Protection. Agent Hunter can explain it when we return." He paused, humming. "Hopefully it includes killing of some sort…I'm getting restless…"

Maria gave another frown.

"Right…Stacy! I'll be back, okay?"

"Have fun on your date!"

"Shut up, Stacy!" Maria snapped back. "Let's go." She growled, turning and marching down the hall.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

' _Fueled Up!' Gas Station_

 _3 Weeks Ago_

This sucked.

Ivy Mayeton huffed, watching the decoder work its magic. She'd paid good money for this tech. Hard earned money that she didn't intend on wasting. Finally, the ATM clicked and bills began flooding out. Not much, not noticeable, but enough to satisfy. A good fifty dollars. She carefully folded the bills and slipped them into her pocket, pulling the hood on her blue striped hoodie up.

She crossed her arms as a light breeze chilled her neck and sent shivers up her arms. Ivy sent an unhappy gaze up at the gas prices. "You people are getting robbed." She muttered, sweeping her gaze over the men and women filling their cars. Back in her old life she could've just paid someone and the gas station would be wiped from existence. Did she miss that life? No. Not at all. Her parent thought she was a freak, and now the only person she actually trusted, her stupid idiotic asshole of a best friend, gave her out to the press, leaving her to run from the authorities. Yay.

God. She hated that life. She was never going back.

Besides, this life was much better. Killing people for pay. It kept life interesting, even if she didn't get that much out of it.

A small bell sounded as Ivy pushed open the door to the gas station food mart. A tougher looking elderly man sent her a grumpy glare from under two bushy eyebrows. Ivy raised an eyebrow and snatched two candy bars and a bottle of soda. She walked up to the counter and set them down.

The man rung them up and Ivy noticed a small silver ring hanging from a chain around his neck.

 _A middle aged woman and man walked hand and hand along the sidewalk. The woman pointed out a small shop across the street. Agreeing, the man and woman waited for a red light and the walk signal, and then began trotting cheerfully across the street. It was then that the man let out a shout of pain. He and the woman went flying, slamming hard into the pavement._

 _The man awoke to agony, blinking away black spots. People crowded him and blocked his view of the woman. Blood splattered the concrete. A drunken man sped away in a red car. The crowd parted for a split second and the man saw the blank eyes of his wife. She was dead._

Ivy flinched.

"Hey, lady," the man said gruffly, holding out the candy bar and looking impatient.

"I—I'm sorry for your loss," Ivy announced before she could stop herself. "That man was a drunken douche bag."

The man's eyes narrowed. "How the hell did you know about that?" he growled.

Ivy's eyes widened. "I—I didn't." She quickly corrected.

"Who the hell are you?!" he snarled, snatching for her hood.

"Get off!" She shouted immediately, shoving his hand away. Her hood was ripped from her head. The man kept her hood in a vicelike grip, turning to a police sketch.

"Oi! You're the Mayeton girl!" he marveled.

"Leave me alone!" she was panicking now, clawing at his hand. The man reached for his phone and Ivy's eyes widened. She ripped her pocketknife from her pocket and jabbed it into the man's arm. He let out a howl and reeled back. S

Ivy jerked her knife from his arm, cutting open her own hand in the process, and snatched her soda, making a run for it.

Shit. Shit. Shit. She was dead. She was _so_ dead. DeadDeadDead. She was dead.

A loud screech interrupted her thoughts and Ivy stopped abruptly, feet skidding on the asphalt, as an expensive black sports car veered to a halt in front of her. The windows had been tinted, and she couldn't see a thing inside, but that quickly changed as the front window rolled down. Inside sat a woman with black sunglasses, her long brown hair drawn back in a bun. Ivy frowned. The woman was about her age, maybe a bit older, and behind her, in the driver's seat, sat a serious looking young man with tousled black hair and devilish eyes.

While Ivy had expected the woman to say something cliché, something along the lines of 'come with me if you want to live' or otherwise, that wasn't the case. Instead, the woman's lips parted and she spoke in a tone of seriousness:

"Move your ass."

Ivy obliged, quickly moving out of the way as the woman pulled out a gun and fired two rounds into the nearest gas pump. It sent a blaze out of the gas pump's hose and forced the civilians into a mad panic. Meanwhile, without receiving welcome, but assuming she could, Ivy yanked open the back door and hopped in.

Slamming the door shut, Ivy let out a short breath of relief.

"Easy on the doors," hissed the young man from the front, slamming the gas.

Ivy felt confusion rise as hot breath met the back of her neck, she spun, facing the second backseat and nearly shouted as a husky breathed another hot puff of air in her face. It looked bored, legs folded and taking up the left and middle seats as it sprawled out. It's tongue lolled lazily and Ivy unintentionally pressed herself against the door, away from the mutt.

"Don't mind him, he won't bite unless he has reason," eased the man from the front, although it didn't calm Ivy's nerves, because the creep gave a fang-filled smirk through the mirror. Ivy gave an attempt at a smile to the husky.

"Isabelle Mayeton?" the woman asked from the front seat.

Ivy hastily grabbed the back of the passenger's seat and clung for dear life as multiple weaving turns were taken.

"Just Ivy," Ivy corrected, sending a glare at her old name. She peered out of the window, watching everything speed by in a blur. Her piercing blue eyes blinked warily. Who the heck were these people? She decided to go for a less direct approach. "How did two lowlifes like you manage something this nice?"

Ignoring the offensive comment, the man spoke up first. "Let's just say we obtained a rather large quantity of money recently."

"And you will too, if you agree to this job," Maria added. "Agent Maria Cortez with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Yael Schäfer, pretty much the opposite," scoffed the man (apparently Yael).

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. gig? How much money are we talking?" inquired Ivy, her eyebrow creeping upwards.

"20 Mil if you behave," answered Maria.

Ivy sputtered. "20 Mil?" she hadn't had that kind of money in years. Scratch that. She'd never had that kind of money. Her parents had, but she never got any of it.

"So," Yael sighed, "Not that we need a _lowlife_ like you," he glared into the mirror. "But are you in?"

Ivy paused, thinking. She glanced at the husky, and swore she saw it nod. "Yea. Yea I'm in."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

' _Whedon Apartments'_

 _Apartment Structure_

 _Border of New York City – New York_

 _3 Weeks Ago_

Astaroth Briar woke to a cold breeze entering through an open window.

The breeze sent chills up his bare back. He pulled the plain white cotton sheet up to his chin, attempting to blink away tiredness. Astaroth rolled over tiredly, blinking at the 20 year old man lying on his right. Sunlight streamed into the room from the only window in the small apartment bedroom, the open window, and car horns sounded quietly in the distance from the street 23 floors down. A black cat stretched from her seat at the two men's feet.

"Ev," Astaroth said quietly, prodding his sleeping boyfriend with his knee.

Evan gave a groan, rolling over so his back was facing Astaroth. Ignoring the many scars painting the warm brown skin, Astaroth rolled his eyes and lifted his head, resting it on Evan's bicep.

"Evaaann…" he cooed. Evan opened one eye, peering up at him expectantly, a look of grumpiness on his face. "Make me breakfast?" Roth gave his best smile. Meanwhile, Venin clambered up to the two and nudged Evan's back.

"What time is it?" muttered Evan tiredly in return.

"Um…it's…" Roth rolled back onto his back, and then over so he was facing the opposite direction of Evan. He snatched his phone off the bedside table and clicked the on button. _5:42_ blinked back at him. Shoot. Better not tell his grouchy boyfriend that. "Time for you to make me breakfast?" he finally decided, unsureness creeping into his tone. He gave another guilty smile. Venin matched with a guilty head tilt.

"It's bloody early, isn't it?" groused the assassin.

"Yup," agreed the merc.

"I'm tired," stated Evan.

"Breakfast," grinned Roth.

Venin mewed.

"I just bought cereal."

"Hm. I suppose that could work." Roth gave an exaggerated sigh. "Will a certain gorgeous British animal shifter be joining me?"

"No. He most certainly will not," responded Evan shortly. He attempted rolling over.

Astaroth snatched his shoulder. "What kind of cereal is it?" he prodded.

Evan rolled his eyes. " _Lucky Charms_."

"That's going to a problem," Roth frowned.

"Why?" Evan perked up, concern filling his almond-shaped teal eyes. His animalistic qualities poked through and Roth was reminded of a wide eyed puppy.

"Because," Roth cracked a grin. "I just so happen to be allergic to luck."

Evan barked a laugh and Roth smirked at the accomplishment.

Giving a huff, Evan turned to his boyfriend, nearly crushing the black cat, who hissed and jumped away. After glaring, Evan spoke up tiredly. He cringed first at the sunlight, and then threw one arm over his eyes. "Fine. There's an apple pie in the fridge."

"You made pie?!" Astaroth marveled childishly. Venin's head poked up from behind her owner's, matching Roth's young amazement.

Evan smirked, peering at them from under his arm. "Yea. I made pie. It was supposed to be for tonight, but obviously it's needed now."

"Thank you and I love you," Roth pulled himself over to Evan and pecked him on the lips before slipping out of the awkward tangle of sheets and blankets. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and wrapped one of the cream colored sheets over his shoulders like a cape.

Roth pulled the sheet closed on the front and Venin jumped onto his shoulder.

"Going back to bed now," announced Evan lazily.

"Mhm," agreed a satisfied Roth.

"Save me some pie."

"Mhm."

Venin gave a sound that scarily resembled a snicker.

"Shut up, Cat."

"You love her."

"Shut up, boyfriend."

Astaroth wandered past the living room tiredly, rubbing his eyes with one hand, and heading for the kitchen. His sheet dragged behind him like a long coat. Venin purred on his shoulder, curling around his neck and making a living fur collar.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made Astaroth freeze. Venin hissed loudly and Roth spun around. His brown eyes narrowed, glinting purple, and he stuck his hand out defensively, purple fire-like chi energy dancing on his fingers.

The sorcerer was met by a bored looking young man, probably his age, with pale skin and wine red eyes. The man sat on his couch casually. Beside him sat a woman with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo printed on her chest, and in Evan's lounge chair was a brown haired woman in a hoodie. The three eyed the flaming power on his hands before returning to their casual demeanor.

The woman in the hoodie's eyes trailed downwards and she raised her eyebrow in an unimpressed manor. Roth unlit his hand immediately, pulling the sheet over his legs and covering everything else. His eyes turned back to their usual color as Venin hissed loudly at the intruders and he clutched the sheet tightly.

The hell were these people?

"Evan…!" he called uncertainly, eyes flicking between the three silent intruders.

"It's in the fridge," came the annoyed reply.

"Evan, babe, you might wanna come here!" repeated Astaroth. The intruders made no move to stop him, so he continued. "There are people in our living room!"

"Not funny Roth," Evan rumbled.

"Evan!" Astaroth gritted out tautly, hugging the sheets closer as the man on the couch gave a fanged smirk. "There are people in our living room, and I am only wearing a _sheet_!"

That got his attention.

Evan came out, now clad in an oh-so-frightening pair of heart boxers, a gun in hand. He blinked cat-like eyes, black slits for pupils. Astaroth figured he'd morphed them from human to cat in order to catch every small movement. Evan pointed it at the man on the couch, flicked it over to the first woman, and then the second.

"Get out of my apartment."

"Nice place you got here," the S.H.I.E.L.D. woman complimented.

"Get out, or I swear to God I'll shoot you."

"Good luck with that," the man retorted.

Meanwhile the hoodie woman continued studying them. Astaroth shifted uncomfortably, Venin gave a low rumble of growling. Evan loaded the gun.

"My name is Ivy," hoodie woman said. "This is Yael Schäfer," she gestured to the man. "And Agent Maria Cortez." The woman. "We'd like to recruit you for a mission."

Astaroth turned to Evan and Evan narrowed his eyes, confused.

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and drawing the sheets closed again, Astaroth raised a bewildered eyebrow.

"Can we…er…can we get you some pie?"

 **Heh. Ain't they just the sweetest? Poor Evan. Getting bothered by Roth. XD**

 **So this chapter finished at a whopping 5,700 words. :D**

 **I figured you all didn't need to hear the run down on what the team's assingment was again. :) How did everyone like that? I quite enjoyed it actually. I hope the action lovers found interest in Yael's backstory. I hope the friendship lovers found interest in Maria's, and the mystery fans liked Ivy's, and the romance fans enjoyed Evan/Roth's. How'd I do? I thought it went well. I had way to much fun writing this.**

 **Let me know who's your fav, who you liked, what you enjoyed. :)**

 **I'll update this and Spoof soon! Promise! I just had no internet all yesterday. -.-**

 **Haha, anyways, I'm back now. ;) Love y'all! Thanks for all of your sweet comments!**

 **-AG**

 **Ps. To: challengerslover: you should totally get an account! I'd love to chat more with you, about this story or otherwise. ;) Possibly even organize a character of yours for the story? :)**


	8. Settling In

Chapter 7-

 **Wow! So many AstarothxEvan (Roan) fans! That was awesome! XD Apologies to VBallPanda for adding more characters (XD sorry bestie).**

 **An important note: I went back and adjusted the description of Astaroth's powers. I felt it was confusing so I tweaked them. Might want to go back and read it for a better understanding of his abilities. :)**

 **So, is everyone ready to rejoin the madhouse known as the Challengers? Marvelous. Then lets tune back into present time. I've decided to ease you all back into the action, slowly and carefully. Consider it the calm before the storm. This chapter is literally just to show you guys how everyone interacts. Oh, and it will be a massive freaking storm. X3**

 **Shout out to Xy-Guy for being as encouraging and supportive as ever. :) He and I have been chattin a lot about the story and he's overall a great guy who's being very kind, so a thank you to him!**

 **Shout out to MockingClove for catching up all of his reviews! I appreciate that! It means a lot more than you probably think! He's a longtime friend, and he is awesome! ;D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Disney or the characters or Marvel. Also, the movies that everyone hate in this chapter are made up. ;)**

 **Now then, Shall we?**

 _The Living Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"This is the blandest TV show I have ever seen."

"Yael. It's a cartoon." Maria sighed.

"I don't care. The lack of blood sickens me."

"That's what _I_ said!" Pat threw both hands out at the television. "And what did everyone say? They said I was insane. Which, I mean, that's true, but that doesn't mean I don't have feelings!" she pouted. "Also doesn't mean I can't tell when a cartoon is crap."

"This is a classic," Piper huffed, snatching the remote and changing the channel for the thousandth time.

"Ooh! Murder House! That sounds interesting!" Pat suddenly shouted.

Piper sent a glance at Eleanor, who frowned at her loss of cartoons. "No! No Murder House!"

The five of them had gathered in the living room to watch cartoons, although it hadn't gone as planned. Yael sat on the couch, arms crossed, looking bored out of his mind like usual. Pat sat next to him, a respectable distance between them, legs crossed and pouting at her own loss of horror flicks. Piper and Maria sat on the floor, in front of the group. Piper sat in front of Yael and Maria in front of Pat. Eleanor had taken to the single recliner in the living room.

Winter, the black and white husky, was curled up loyally on Yael's lap.

Every single boy except Yael (who had apparently assumed they'd be watching rated R) and Daniel (who disliked everyone in the household except Naia) had gone swimming in the indoor pool. The younger, and less mature, (led by Astaroth, followed by Spencer and Tamashi) of the group had begged the more mature and older (led by Evan, followed by Lachlan and Victor) to visit the pool. It had been a loud argument, consisting mainly of Astaroth struggling to shove Evan downstairs to the pool, but had finished with the younger immature ones on top. Ivy had tagged along, apparently with nothing better to do.

"God! No! Not High School Musical!" Maria laughed. "I haven't seen this in forever."

" _We're all in this together_!" sang Pat happily. The immortal had somehow managed to swipe the remote from the songbird. Yael was glaring at Pat with something that resembled betrayal.

"We don't have to watch movies," Eleanor brought up. Always the peacekeeper.

"What do you suggest?" agreed Maria.

"Hopefully it involves killing. I'm getting a little antsy," sighed Yael. Nudging Winter, he got to his feet and lurked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. The husky tailed him each step. His eyebrow lifted and Piper watched as he slipped a half a bar of chocolate from the fridge.

Undoing the wrapper, he took a bite and, dubbing it worthy of his consuming, continued to eat it as he took a seat at the kitchen's marble island.

Maria poked her head over the couch, "Wasn't that chocolate Evan's?"

"Dunno," admitted Yael, taking another bite. "But unless you can get me something better, I wouldn't tell him."

"Fair enough," nodded Maria.

"Hey, where _are_ Evan and Ryloth?" inquired a very curious Eleanor.

"You mean Roth?" Maria gave a small smile.

"Ryloth," Eleanor gave a nod.

Maria snorted. "Swimming with the other boys. Apart from Yael, that is."

"I don't do swimming," muttered Yael from the island. He nipped off another small corner of chocolate.

"Yup, he's way to big and tough for that," remarked Pat with a smirk. Yael glared like the devil. Pat began humming ' _We're All in This Together'._

Maria got to her feet, and Piper followed her up.

"I could make sandwiches," Maria offered. She shrugged, appearing uncertain what to do with teenagers Piper and Eleanor's ages. "You guys…er…you guys like sandwiches…right?"

"Yea," Piper chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "We like sandwiches."

"Alright, good," Maria sighed, deflating a bit. She walked leisurely into the kitchen and began gathering ingredients.

Piper glanced between the young man and woman. She could tolerate these two. They weren't so bad. Sure, Yael had psychopathic tendencies, and Maria seemed completely out of her environment, but…hey…I mean…everyone couldn't be a deranged killer…right?

Piper sighed. Hopefully the boys were having more fun.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Pool Level_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Evan paddled around the pool, feeling very relaxed and laid back. He hadn't felt this off-guard in years. Off to his right, a good ten feet from the pool, was Ivy. The roof and two of the four walls of the pool level was made of thick glass, letting in a load of sunlight. She had put on a dark blue bikini, but it didn't show more than necessary and Evan could tell even then she'd debated putting it on. Ivy didn't do water, as he'd come to realize. No idea why. Just how she was.

Meanwhile, the living embodiments of immaturity took up the deeper end of the pool. Spencer, Tamashi and Lachlan had busied themselves dunking each other underwater and splashing great amount of water exclusively at each other's faces.

Evan's boyfriend had taken to the edge of the pool, occasionally dipping his feet in. He'd been swimming around before, but it seemed he had gotten tired, announced he wanted to dry off, and reclined on one of the long tanning chairs at poolside, Venin curled up on his stomach. He'd closed his eyes, and Evan suspected it might be some sort of meditation, and might very well have been. Evan would never understand Roth's abilities.

Roth tried to explain it to him once. 'Like Iron Fist' he'd said. Chi Energy. Except it was purple, not gold. Darker Chi is what Roth had said. The slim figure of his boyfriend also withheld enhanced strength, durability, and a helluva lot of stamina. He barely ever used those abilities however, preferring his chi.

Very rarely did Evan's childish side show. This was one of those rare times. Focusing and imagining a fish in his mind, Evan delightfully grinned as gills appeared on his neck. He dove underwater in a slick motion and opened his eyes. He swam gracefully under the surface towards the metal ladder leading out of the pool. Gills fading, he silently climbed out of the pool. Spencer, Tamashi and Lachlan had noticed him by now and sported matching raised eyebrows as they waded over to the edge of the pool and slung their arms onto the surface, kicking in place and watching curiously.

Evan, dripping water onto the stone tile floor, grew a mischievous smirk as he padded silently over to his unsuspecting boyfriend. Ivy raised her sunglasses, eyeing him.

"Hey Roth?" Evan asked quietly, crouching next to the ebony haired sorcerer.

"Yea?" Roth answered, opening one eye and peering at Evan curiously. Venin also opened her eyes, looking up warily at Evan.

"I found a stash of chocolate in the fridge upstairs. Interested?" Evan knew he had his boyfriend now. Roth's sweet tooth would always be his weakness.

"Aw. But sunlight…" Roth moped, gesturing to the surrounding area, both eyes open.

"I'll carry you," offered Evan.

"Deal," agreed Roth happily. Evan scooped up his boyfriend carefully, Venin glowering in disagreement. Before Roth could argue, Evan tightened his grip and turned, sprinting at the pool. He felt Roth go tense and Venin began hissing wildly as Evan leapt.

"Evan you bast—"

Roth didn't get to finish as both young men splashed into the water, sending a wave over the three teens watching. Evan swam back up to the surface, Roth popping up a minute later.

"Asshole," Roth remarked, although a good natured smile painted his face.

The three teens were cheering as they glided over.

Venin was less happy, clinging to Roth's shoulder for dear life. She had been submerged, but now perched half submerged, soaking wet and glaring daggers at Evan.

"You could've just asked for me to come back and swim," Astaroth commented, dropping Venin off at the poolside before swimming back. He shook his head wildly, black hair splaying out in different directions. Venin mimicked him on the shore, sending her fur into a flurry.

Evan cracked a smirk. "What fun would that be?"

"That was the best!" crowed Spencer as he clumsily dog-paddled over to the couple.

"The look on your face," Lachlan said with an amused smile, professionally gliding over.

"Definitely better than asking," agreed Tamashi with a smirk, taking long strokes.

"Venin's gonna attack you in your sleep," announced Roth, sending a casual glance in his boyfriend's direction.

"I'd like to see her try," scoffed Evan. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you, Cat?"

Venin snarled from the poolside.

Evan glared.

Spencer laughed.

"I don't get it, don't you turn into animals?" Roth gave a look of disapproval. "Why don't you like Venin? She's an animal."

"Because, Venin is not an animal. She's a freaky human girl trapped in a cat's body," snapped Evan, although he raised his eyebrows in a way that reminded his boyfriend he was only joking.

"Don't be ridiculous," Roth answered immediately. "She's a cat."

"And yet she is always staring at me, gives her opinion to everything anyone says and is humanoid in every way, other than her appearance," argued Evan.

"You just _think_ you don't like her because she's mean to you."

"And everyone else on this planet."

"Lies. I know you love her."

"I'm 98% sure Venin is a demon spawn."

"Oh shut up, now you're just being mean."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Living Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Pat hadn't had a movie night in…let's see…204 lifetimes now? A good 9 years. So when Spencer began threatening to annoy everyone until they agreed to a movie night, Pat joined in, adding her own threat (to throw sparkles in everyone's eyes until they were blind). Obviously, Spencer and Pat had won, high fiving and cheering like they had won a thousand dollars.

So, when it had been decided that a vote was to be taken for every movie choice, well, Pat was pissed. No horror movies, 'cuz Eleanor was to young, no movies including nude scenes, because she'd been voted against. The one good thing allowed was gore. They were superheroes. They'd seen their fill. No one cared if it was in movies.

"How about that Disney movie…um… _Sweater Squirrels_? I hear that's good," shrugged Maria with an unconvincing frown.

"Uh uh," Tamashi shook his head and glared.

"We aren't five year olds," agreed Yael with disapproving narrowed eyes.

"Nor are we in the mood for a movie that was rated 3/10," added Evan with a nod.

"It wasn't _that_ bad," shrugged Astaroth.

"No. Roth, that was _bad_ ," Evan announced with a serious stare. "Everyone dies at the end!"

"Spoilers!" shouted Eleanor and Pat in unison. Pat hated spoilers. Spoilers hated her. They hated each other. She once got into a bar fight with spoilers. She'd won. The bartender thought she was crazy, so she killed him too. Ah. Good times.

"Where're Naia, Daniel and Johanna?" Ivy inquired, looking around the living room.

"Do I look like I care?" Victor rolled his eyes.

"About me? Yes," beamed Pat, swiping the opportunity.

"Not about you, Coren," growled Victor. Pat could see the fictional gray cloud above his head.

"Angry," scoffed Pat. "We've got the seven negative dwarves in here." She pointed respectively to each one as she named them:

"Grumpy." Evan rolled his eyes and Roth snickered.

"Angry," Victor punched her in the arm.

"Glare-y," Tamashi moped.

"Creepy," Yael ignored her, peering out of the large living room windows at a few bats fluttering about outside.

"Silent-y," Ivy didn't care what Pat said.

"Annnnnddd…" Pat frowned. Huh. Only six.

"Crazy," added Victor with an annoyed scowl.

"Yea!" she cheered.

"We should see if they want to join," Maria sighed.

"What?!" chorused around the room.

" _Not_ because I want them too," she quickly added. "I just think it would be better if we kept an eye on them. These people are murderers. They really shouldn't be waltzing around together. The collars stop them from leaving the property, not burning down the house."

"Point taken," agreed Lachlan. "I can go find them."

"I'll give you a hand," nodded Maria. "Evan? Roth? Yael? Ivy?" she looked over the boys and girl. They peered back at her expectantly. "I'm assuming you can handle this?"

Pat smirked and answered for them. "Yea. They got this."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _15 Minutes Later_

"I can't believe you people!" Roth crowed loudly.

Pat sighed. "You should've seen this coming."

"I don't want to watch this!" he shouted in return.

"You can leave," suggested Eleanor. "No one is stopping you."

"Except for my boyfriend holding me down."

"Well…" Eleanor frowned. "At least you'll be comfortable?" She brightened. "Besides, _Star Wars_ is totally worth it! Any of them! Well…the prequels could've been better…but any of the others!"

"I've seen _Star Wars_ , I don't live under a rock," Roth huffed with slight annoyance.

"And you can watch it again, it won't kill you," Spencer grinned, placing the disk into the DVD player beneath the TV.

"I just want to go check what's taking the others so long!" Roth squirmed in Evan's grasp. Evan had wrapped his muscular arms around Roth's smaller frame, holding the younger man to his side firmly. He was a strong Star Wars fan, but more than that, he insisted on not being stuck with Yael and Ivy while watching a movie with the teenagers.

"I'm sure they're fine," Evan assured, tightening his grip and earning a wheeze from Astaroth.

Lachlan waltzed in, holding a six pack of soda.

"Where was that?!" demanded Piper urgently, staring in awe.

"The second kitchen," replied Lachlan casually.

"The what?" Spencer's eyes widened.

"Is there any beer?" Yael inquired.

"Yes," Maria answered, walking in with her own pack of beverages. "The second kitchen is pretty damn amazing. Look what else we managed to grab."

Naia and Daniel entered with matching looks of distaste.

"They were playing chess downstairs," announced Lachlan, cracking open a can of _Sprite_ with a hiss.

"Chess? Really?" Ivy raised an eyebrow. "People still play that?"

"It's not as terrible as you might think," Naia responded.

"Besides, all of you were hording the freaking TV," Daniel reminded with narrowed eyes. He and Tamashi seemed to be in some sort of glare-off.

Personally, Victor was impartial to the whole thing. Star Wars. Jurassic Park. Casino Royale. They were all great movies, but he didn't care which one of them they ended up watching. He really just wanted to watch a damn movie.

Finally, and he meant _finally_ , the group of heroes, murderers and agents decided upon a _Star Wars_ marathon. How? No idea. Which one first? No idea. Again, Victor wasn't into movies.

Six people crammed onto the couch, previously occupied by only Victor and Pat. Now it was Victor, Pat, Ivy, Yael, Maria and Lachlan. Lachlan and Pat had taken seats on the fat arm rests of the sofa. Eleanor and Piper curled up on the large recliner together, Eleanor in Piper's lap. Spencer, Tamashi, Roth and Evan swiped all of the throw pillows. Tamashi and Spencer sprawled out over the floor, while Roth and Evan sat together in front of the couch. Naia and Daniel sat only a small ways from the group, distancing themselves, but also watching the movie in peaked interest.

A good time later, after a good portion of the movie, Victor leapt to his feet.

"What?!"

It wasn't only him shouting. Spencer, Tamashi, Piper and Evan were all showing various rays of surprise and shock.

"No way!" Spencer shouted, now on his knees, running both hands through his hair, mouth agape in surprise.

"That's not possible!" Tamashi gaped, he'd rolled over onto his back and was staring at the TV upside down, throw pillow clutched to his chest.

"How did—did you know that was going to happen?!" Evan turned to look down at his boyfriend, who gave a cheeky smile and a nod. "Oh my God! That is genius!"

"No! He can't be Luke's father!" Piper shouted. Eleanor was giggling next to her.

It had escaped Victor that he wasn't the only one who hadn't seen it. Personally, he'd never had the reason to watch it, but Spencer had been introduced to Hydra at a very young age, and never even had the option. Tamashi had been kidnapped from Japan when he was eleven, or so his file said, so he obviously hadn't watched it either. Piper had been experimented on as a kid, and Movie Night wasn't a thing in her life. And Evan, well Victor assumed his training, which rivaled that of Agent May, didn't begin recently. Even Yael, who was apparently part of some sort of clan, seemed a bit surprised at the family ties in the movie, his eyes widened just a bit.

On the other hand, Maria was smiling up at her own teammates, finding it interesting at their child-like curiosity. Ivy had broken into a smile, mainly at seeing the ever tough Yael show any emotion but annoyance or bloodlust. Roth was laughing as Evan rambled about how surprising it was. Pat was giggling like an idiot with Eleanor. The two continuously cracked up, stopped, looked at each other, and cracked up again.

Naia looked beyond surprised, but Daniel appeared to have watched it before. Naia was whispering to him, not wanting to share her obvious shock.

Victor was interested now. Pat was staring at him, pearly white teeth showing.

"Ooh, big bad Angry dwarf isn't so angry anymore, huh?" she teased.

"I—er—" Victor frowned at his lack of composure. "Shut up Coren." He finally stated. Pat broke off laughing again.

"Everyone quiet! It's getting back to the good part!" Eleanor squealed suddenly.

Everyone silenced within the next millisecond.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

It was actually now about dawn. Sunlight had just began to stream into the windows. But for the Challengers, it was definitely late. Naia and Daniel had broken off and turned in for the night after the third movie. Piper hadn't surrendered to the annoying lure of sleep. She was going to make it.

The others couldn't say the same thing.

If she remembered correctly, Roth had been the first one to go. He'd nodded off during the second half of the fourth movie. Evan remained awake, head leaning back on the couch, always there to protect his boyfriend. Maria had fallen asleep soon after Roth, head leaning on Yael's left shoulder. He had seemed extremely uncomfortable, even growling a little, but he wasn't a complete asshole, so he let her stay. It was only when Ivy fell asleep on his other shoulder did he seem to get a little ticked. Again, not a complete jerk, so he didn't do anything, but he was in obvious discomfort.

Pat had moved from the arm rest of the couch to laying down across the laps of Maria, Yael, Ivy and Lachlan. This now trapped Yael in the middle of the couch, and pinned down Lachlan, Victor, Maria and Ivy (not that the two women would need to move anytime soon). Victor had been frustrated, and attempted to wake Pat, only to receive scrambled muttering about unicorns, nuclear warheads and a penguin in a hat.

Soon after Pat had been removed from the equation, Tamashi and Spencer dropped practically in unison. One minute they were excitably staring at the screen, the next minute the two out cold, curled up on the carpet and snoring softly.

So the survivors were: Piper, Eleanor, Yael, Lachlan and Victor. Piper shook Eleanor gently as the credits rolled on the final movie. Eleanor nodded and got to her feet, bringing a plush teal blanket with her, the fabric slung over her shoulders like a cape.

You know, none of them saw the attack coming.

None of them predicted that one week later their entire lives would be changed.

That in one week Piper and all of the Challengers would lose a friend.

 **HA! I GOT YOU PEOPLE! All nice and happy until AsgardianGrizzly comes in and BLOWS UP THE PLACE! XD Anyways, I hope you all like that little twist ending. And, yes, the next chapter will skip ahead 2 days, and the next will skip another, and so on. :)**

 **AND YEA: THE TEAM HAS FINALLY SEEN STAR WARS! :D**

 **I'll try to have the update up this weekend, otherwise sometime next week. Sorry for the late update. X)**

 **I love hearing from you crazy people out there! ;D**

 **Love y'all!**

 **-AG**


	9. Among Us

Chapter 8-

 **So sweet. All of you. Love you guys. :)**

 **Super sorry this took so long! But the action is back! :D And guess what?! This series just reached 337 pages! WOAOAOAH?! I know right?**

 **Now then, it's been two days. What's happened? What's about to? You guys want to see?**

 **Ps. My 'x' key is wigging out, so please let me know if I'm missing an 'x' anywhere. I was pretty careful, but I don't need that mistake. :) (My computer is 5 years old, and it's finally starting to break XD)**

 **Anyways, Shall we?**

 **Warning: Technical underage drinking. Nothing major. No drunks. They're 20 and the law is 21 (in America, for those of you out of country ;))**

 **:)**

 _The Living Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

 _2 Days Later_

"Eleanor. Eight times. Watching a movie eight times is too much. Watching _a series of movies eight times_ is _way_ too much!"

"Oh, stop freaking out _Death!_ " Eleanor chirped back. She swiped the nail-polish brush over Pat's thumb fingernail again. She huffed when Pat drew her hand back and began making wild hand motions. "And stop flapping your hands around." She muttered with a grin.

"It's too much!" Pat repeated, settling her hands back into Eleanor's so she could continue painting them pink with black stripes. Piper sat a small ways behind Eleanor, on the arm rest of the sofa, blowing on her drying blue nails. It had apparently come to Pat's attention that Eleanor hadn't ever given or received a manicure, much less just a friendly nail painting session.

Eleanor didn't mind, but Pat had insisted. She wanted Eleanor to learn how to paint others nails, and receive one of her own. She'd given five tonight. Five! Maria was the first to agree. She'd wanted a gentle pink. It didn't draw too much attention, but it didn't shy away from anyone either. Eleanor liked Maria. She was friendly, like an older sister, like Piper.

Next Eleanor had painted Piper's. Indigo blue. They complimented her cool blue eyes. And then there was Roth, yea! Roth! Eleanor hadn't believed him at first when he agreed, but he did. He seemed slightly more reluctant, but sat down on the recliner and allowed Eleanor to paint his nails black. He'd even convinced Venin, yes the cat, to let Eleanor paint her claws pink!

Ivy didn't like the idea of painted nails. She'd told Eleanor that she didn't really understand it. Eleanor hadn't at first either, so she didn't blame Ivy.

Eleanor cracked another smile, "There!" she beamed. Pat wiggled her fingers.

"Beau! Hermosa! Kaunis! Beautiful!" Pat cheered.

"Careful! You'll get nail polish on the couch!" fretted Eleanor as she tried to lasso Pat's hands again.

"Alrighty, Ellie-belle, what color is the master nail artist Pat Coren painting with?!" Pat rose into a shout, along with a strange European accent. Eleanor laughed and Piper gave a cheeky smile from behind the two.

"Green?" as much as people seemed to think she adored pink, green was actually Eleanor's favorite color.

"Cool! We talkin' forest green? Lime green? Neon green? Unicorn barf green?" listed off Pat with excitement, she quickly began digging around in a small contained of nail polishes.

"Do we even have that?" Piper raised an eyebrow, blowing another wisp of air onto her drying fingernails.

"Um…" Pat dug thoroughly, eyebrows knitting together. "Well…" Eleanor put on a look of childish hope when Pat turned to her. She raised her eyebrows and smiled in a 'pwease will you find it for me?' face. "I can…make it…" shrugged Pat.

"Yea! Let's make unicorn barf!" yipped Eleanor blissfully.

"Okay, you've got my interest."

Eleanor broke out in a smile and turned around quickly as Skylier and Marie walked in. The two had gone out shopping last night, therefore missing the movie night, and were both stocked with bags. Some held groceries, others held clothing, and one of them was from _Bath and Body Works_.

"We bring gifts!" Skylier called out the house. Within minutes everyone was downstairs. All of the boys were shirtless, and all of the girls wore nightgowns or band t-shirts. It was late, Eleanor was lucky to avoid getting told to go to bed. She smirked a little at her accomplishment.

"Fritos," Marie announced. She set two paper bags on the countertop and let the others go to the floor. Reaching into one of the paper bags, she pulled out a small foil chips bag. "For Lachlan." She threw them at the Irish, who had just entered the room. His eyebrows shot upwards in surprise, but he caught them easily.

"Thanks," Lachlan gave a lopsided grin.

"No prob. S.H.I.E.L.D. gave us an extremely _high_ limit on money, so we went all out," smirked Skylier. She reached into one of her own bags. "Doritos for Tamashi."

The Asian teleported over, took the Doritos, teleported back over by Spencer and popped open the bag, sending a smile at Marie. Eleanor raised an eyebrow and smirked, she peered over at him in an 'ooooohhh, you like herrrr!' look. He glared and munched on a chip.

"Potato chips for Spencer."

"Cheetos for Victor."

"Chocolate ice cream for Piper." A small tub of ice cream, and a spoon, were tossed at the siren.

"Strawberry ice cream for Eleanor." Eleanor caught hers thankfully and popped the top off, dipping the spoon in.

"Super fudge mint strawberry ice cream _with_ sprinkles?...For Pat." Skylier grimaced and tossed it.

Pat gave a snicker of delight, catching the tub. Eleanor looked at it.

"That looks disgusting," Eleanor admitted. The ice cream in the tub was a deep chocolate brown, muddy green and tainted pink swirl with sprinkles and chocolate chips mixed in. Pat cackled again, ignored the spoon, and dipped a finger in, licking it off with delight.

"Here this is for you guys," Marie tossed another tub of ice cream at Roth and Evan, who stood next to Lachlan. "Roth requested it."

"Moose tracks," Evan smacked is boyfriend playfully upside the head. "Only thinking about yourself. And after all I've done for you. I make you pies, I make you spaghetti, I help pay for Cat's cat food, I—" Roth grinned like an idiot and stuck the spoon in, and stuck it into Evan's mouth and cutting him off. Evan rolled his eyes and took the spoon from his boyfriend.

"We also have ice cream for Ivy…" Skylier frowned, looking around. "And chips for Yael…whenever he gets back from…whatever he is doing…"

Eleanor poked her head above the couch, having an explanation. "Ivy's upstairs taking a shower, and Yael told me he was…uh…" Eleanor contemplated what to say next, took another lick of ice cream, and then continued. "He said he was 'going to go kill someone' because he's 'having a bad day'."

"Bad day?" Maria raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, leaning on the second doorframe, this door leading to the kitchen, while the other led to the stairwell to the second floor.

Roth and Evan winced in unison.

Evan scratched the back of his neck subconsciously, "Yea, he might of walked in while…"

Roth looked down at the tub of ice cream in his hands with guilt. "…While Evan and I were…"

"Heard enough! LALALALALA!" Pat stuck her fingers in her ears and closed her eyes.

"Pat," Victor frowned.

"—ALALALALALA!"

"Pat."

"—LADEEDAH! LALA! I'M NOT LISTENING!"

Roth and Evan's spoon was taken. A bruise briefly appeared on Pat's forehead, before fading away completely. Pat pouted.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Maria raised a quizzical eyebrow, looking over to Eleanor. Eleanor smiled with guilt. "You little snake! I told you to go to bed hours ago!" Maria laughed goodheartedly.

The sound of a beer opening caught everyone's attention, and Eleanor turned to find Yael pushing his way into the room.

"I didn't hear you come in," admitted Maria.

"Yea. You wouldn't." scoffed Yael, sipping the beer pleasurably.

"Come on, you heard Agent Cortez, bedtime," urged Pat with a smirk. She began shuffling Eleanor upwards.

"And no more ice cream," Piper added, swiping Eleanor's treat.

Sometimes it sucked to be youngest. "Fine." She grumbled. "But all of it better be here tomorrow morning!" she snapped, moping out of the living room.

"You too!" Maria clapped her hands together once and wandered to the middle of the room. "Anyone below the age of 20 is going to bed. Right now. Come on, let's go."

Mutters of 'fine' and even a few 'aww's made their way into the room. The Challengers made their way upstairs. Eleanor didn't complain all that much, instead throwing a playful smile at Pat. She liked it here.

She hadn't had this much fun in…

Ever.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Ivy's Bedroom_

 _Second Floor_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Ivy toweled off her hair once more before slinging the wetted towel over her shoulder and slipping out of her bedroom. She paused as a flow of younger teenagers walked past her room and down the hallway, chatting and laughing with each other. She rolled her eyes. Teenagers.

Dropping the towel in the bathroom to dry, Ivy made her way down the stairs into the kitchen. She was met by Maria, Yael, Evan and Roth, Venin and Winter padding in after them and sending furry glares at each other. Maria was unpacking groceries, Yael was taking something from the counter, and Roth and Evan quickly joined him.

"Guess I missed the party," Ivy stated upon her entry. She tilted her head a bit when she noticed a pack of beer on the marble countertop. She ambled over and snatched a can, opening it and taking a sip. It burned down her throat. Nothing like the vodka she'd downed in Eastern Europe, but it'd do. Roth took a swig and grimaced, while Evan swallowed a large mouthful without so much as a flinch.

"Not much of a party," admitted Yael as took another swig of his own beverage. He sat down on the couch and Winter picked up into a trot, leaping up next to him.

Ivy crossed over and collapsed onto the recliner. God. Babysitting was exhausting. Why had she signed up for this? Oh , right. She was a millionaire now. That's right. How nice. Even that barely made up for watching a collection of super powered teenagers for X amount of time.

"Maria!" Eleanor suddenly called down the stairs.

"I'm coming!" Maria promised. She quickly finished up putting away groceries and jogged up the staircase, disappearing upstairs. Maria had a thing with that kid. She read Eleanor a bedtime story and, in return, Eleanor filled Maria in on all of the other Challengers' favorite things to do and favorite foods. Maria then used the information gained to stay on the good side of all of the teens. It was smart, Ivy gave her that.

"M'kay," Evan set down his bottle on the countertop as Roth plopped down next to Yael on the sofa. Venin leapt onto the couch, glared at Winter, and then jumped up to her perch on her owner's shoulder. The cat swept its gaze protectively around the room and seemed to roll its eyes at the approaching Evan. That cat freaked out Ivy. It was too human-like.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Evan finished. "Then I'm going to bed." He bent over and kissed the top of Roth's head, earning a smile from his boyfriend.

"I'll be up in a bit," Roth agreed. Evan gave a wave of goodnight, to which Ivy gave a nod, and then made his way to the stairs with a lazy stretch.

Ivy watched as Roth got to his feet and headed for the fridge. He paused halfway in and glanced at his reflection in the metallic fridge. His fingers quickly began messing with his hair, obviously unhappy with what had met his eyes.

"You should just shave it all off," Ivy recommended with a side smirk. She glanced at her beer and, after brief consideration, took another swig. Yael matched her a few minutes later, setting his slender fingers on his dog's head and petting Winter gently.

"Pass," vetoed Roth with a frown. His brows furrowed in concentration as he tousled the black locks. Finally, he dubbed his efforts useless and opened the fridge, pulling out a can of soda. Ivy eyed his beer, which remained abandoned on the glass coffee table in the living room.

"You look like a teenage celebrity," Yael sneered.

"Whatever," Roth rolled his eyes. "You guys are assholes." Ivy barked a laugh. "It's really coming down," he continued, changing the subject.

Ivy turned, peering out of the large glass windows. It was raining hard. "Yea, no kidding." She nodded.

"'Guess every bird decided to take a piss at the same time," announced Yael, casually leaning back on the sofa.

"Oh. Wow. Thanks for that," sighed Roth, while Ivy's face contorted in disliking.

Venin snarled a bit under her breath, glowering out at the rain. Ivy admired it. She and the cat got along okay. Roth wasn't impressed. Venin arched her back and snarled, glancing around. Roth stroked her head with his free hand. "Ven, it's just rain. Stop being so stereotypical." Venin eased a bit, jumping from Roth's shoulder onto the floor.

"This is why cats are stupid," Yael stated, not bothering to look back at the two. Ivy swore Winter nodded in agreement. The animals of this team were unusual, to say the least.

Roth laughed at that. "Why can't we all just agree that they're both fine?"

"Because your cat is creepy," Ivy grinned, enjoying the strange banter.

"Not true," argued Roth. "She's friendly."

"Never said she wasn't."

"Huh. Good point." Roth walked back towards the living room, and Yael was kind enough to begin shuffling over to make a bit of space. "You know, I don't—" the sound of a gun firing cut them off.

Either way, Ivy, Yael and Roth froze. Roth, barely a foot to the right of Ivy, dropped his soda. Even Yael gaped. Winter's head had shot upwards, ears perked, and Venin's fur had fluffed up again, back arched. At some point Ivy's beer fell from her hands. She didn't notice.

She was more focused on the red swirl blossoming on the side of Roth's torso.

Everything seemed to pick back up. Another bang rang out and feathers sprayed from the cushion next to Yael's head. Yael leapt off of the couch, Winter slipping off after him.

"I…" Roth trailed. His eyes fluttered and he didn't seem to be aware of what was happening. He stumbled a step before pitching forwards. Yael was the one to catch him, lifting the younger man into a bridal hold. The fanged human glared, but didn't get angry. Another shot came from an unknown direction.

"Move!" Yael growled. Ivy got to her feet hazily, scooping up Venin in her arms and keeping her head low. If Roth hadn't been there that bullet would've gone between her eyes. She would've died. Someone had tried to kill her. Not unusual. But someone else had gotten hurt instead. That bothered her.

Ivy kept at Yael's heels as he turned many corners, heading for the stairs.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Spencer awoke with a sharp gasp. His head ached bitterly and there was a sour taste in his mouth. A second loud bang cut through the air and Spencer leapt from his bed. He was alone in his room. He briefly glanced at the unopened bag of potato chips sitting on his nightstand. A third bang. Oh my god, those're gunshots.

Getting his crap together, Spencer snatched a shirt and exited his bedroom. He was met by Maria in the hallway. He slipped his shirt over his head and they met eyes. She looked terrified, but quickly regained her composure.

"What the hell is going on?" Spencer demanded.

"Gunfire. The assassins found us," answered Maria. "Stay here."

"No way," Spencer argued immediately. She began walking briskly down the hall towards the stairs, he followed closely.

"Go back to your room," she snapped.

"It was three shots. There's three of them," he pointed out, ignoring her order.

Maria whirled on him, stopping Spencer in his tracks, "Spencer, go back to your room. Now."

"No," he said firmly.

She huffed. "Fine. Don't die, you got that?"

"Because that was on my résumé," he retorted with a half-hearted smirk.

Maria opened her robe a bit and Spencer felt the urge to look away. When he saw she had a t-shirt and gray sweatpants beneath he relaxed. When he noticed she also had a gun holstered over her chest, he tensed again. She abandoned her purple bathrobe on the floor and pulled out her gun, turning back around and starting down the hall again.

Spencer concentrated, forming two small force fields around his closed fists. He picked up his pace, following Maria all the way to the door leading to the stairs. The two paused halfway to the door when a crash sounded in the room next to them. The door opened and Evan stepped into the doorway, towel around his waist. Spencer heard the shower running in Evan's bathroom.

"What the hell is going on?!" Evan hissed. Spencer took care in realizing Evan clutched his own gun.

"Do you people just have those lying around?" he murmured.

"Gunfire. Downstairs." Maria responded, not bothering with Spencer's question.

"Give me a minute," said Evan gruffly. He closed the door with shocking delicacy, Spencer heard the shower turn off inside, and then Evan reappeared a few seconds later fully dressed. His shortly cropped hair was still wet, but none of them cared, continuing down the hall.

Maria opened the door to the stairwell, Evan and Spencer ready to attack whatever was on the other side. Seeing nothing, Maria led the way down. Spencer followed, and Evan flanked him. The three turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, into the living room.

Spencer quickly made force fields blocking every entrance, and took in what laid before him. One throw pillow had exploded on the couch. The glass coffee table was shattered.

"Who was down here?" Evan demanded sternly.

"Yael, Roth and Evan," replied Spencer, flicking his eyes between the two entrances and the staircase.

"And Ivy. She came down after you guys went up," Maria added.

There was a pause. Spencer turned away from the door, peering back at Evan and Maria. Evan was crouched on the carpet, staring at something. "We have to find them." He gritted out. Spencer walked forwards, towards Evan, and gazed down at the carpet. It wasn't much, but a few drops of blood had tainted the carpet. "Astaroth?!" Evan suddenly shouted.

"Shut up!" Maria scolded, narrowing her eyes.

"Evan?!" Evan's eyes widened. It had been Yael that answered from the basement.

"Unlock the door!" Spencer urged. The lock clicked. Spencer quickly dropped the force fields and led the way down the stairs.

"What happened?" Maria snarled upon entry of the room below.

Spencer halted when he saw that Roth had been laid out on the floor, Ivy pressing Yael's jacket to the younger man's torso. Yael appeared to have been guarding the door, now dressed in a white button up instead of his usual blue trench (now being used as a blood staunch).

"What _happened?!_ " Evan said the same thing as Maria, but he said it in a much fiercer tone. He marched over to the two and dropped to his knees, taking Roth's hand in his own. Spencer glanced back at the door defensively.

"We were attacked. Three shots. Came from the entrance to the house. Roth was shot. Whoever it was was aiming for Ivy first. They happened to hit Roth, so they changed over to aiming for me." Yael explained unhappily.

"Does he need med evac?" Maria checked with her commanding authority.

"I don't…I don't know…" Evan frowned with fearful eyes. "I can get the bullet out and his chi can heal most of it," Evan responded with a vengeful tone. "But…I don't know if he can heal it all. We can't risk leaving. Not after this attack."

"Agreed," sighed Maria. She turned to Spencer, who perked up a bit. "Go wake your friends and find out why the hell they didn't wake earlier."

Spencer gave a nod, and off he went.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"One time getting drugged? Sure. I get it. Twice? Not happening. Somebody please explain." Lachlan huffed, crossing his arms.

"Someone got in the house." Maria answered, short-tempered. Her eyes wandered to the ceiling. They had gathered in the living room, all of them, which was right underneath Evan and Roth's bedroom, where the couple had taken to recovering in.

"I thought this place was secure!"

"Then I guess someone in the house tried to kill my team. That sound better to you?" snapped Maria angrily.

"No! Someone is trying to kill us, and now you! Someone _drugged_ us!" Lachlan answered, frustrated.

"We have to leave," expressed Piper warily. She rubbed her head with deep consideration. The drugs had vacated the team's bloodstream, but left a nasty headache in its wake. Now, instead of being on sedatives, they had taken to Tylenol.

"We can't," sighed Maria, seeming to relax a bit. She let her shoulders sag a little more, and gave both Piper and Lachlan an honest gaze.

"Why not?!" Eleanor chirped, eyes widening. She had a neon hue to her skin, nervousness affecting her abilities.

"Because," Ivy intervened. She looked Lachlan dead in the eyes. "I checked security feed. It cut out the exact time of the attack. This is S.H.I.E.L.D. tech, the only way in is through a computer system in the basement. I looked at the external cams and guess what? No one entered the house. You know what that means?"

Lachlan's eyebrows furrowed, but his eyes widened.

"The assassin is one of us."

 **Whew. Okay. Now the Challengers know that the traitor is among them! And guess what?! It's not Skye! It's not Annaleise! It's not anyone who's not there…or is it? Who knows? Maybe the feed was chopped up? Maybe they didn't go in through a window or door? So many possibilities. :)**

 **Oh, and what about that death?! Who is gonna die?!** _ **Is**_ **anyone gonna die?! Maybe no one will die. Maybe** _ **everyone**_ **will die. Or maybe Roth will die? I mean, no one suggested him as the victim, did you? :) He's also my character. I can do what I wish. *evil laugh***

 **Let me know what you guys think! And if you haven't already, go check out my profile and vote who you think is the killer! I've decided not to refresh it, but if you'd like to change your vote, let me know via PM or review! ;D**

 **I love you all because you're all so supportive and sweet. :)**

 **Review, review, review! I love your feedback!**

 **I'll update soon!**

 **-AG**


	10. Love Comes in Many Forms

Chapter 9-

 ***soap opera music plays***

 **PLEASE READ ALL!**

 **Annnnd we're back! Previously on** _ **Students of S.H.I.E.L.D.**_ **: Ice cream and chips are had, the traitor pays a visit, oh and Roth is** _ **shot**_ **! Thanks to you all for all of your kind comments. :) They're much appreciated.**

 **Oh and holy Unicorn Hoodie. I spent 5 hours planning out this story until around 18-20 chapters. It may not seem like much, but my brain is fried. XD On the other hand, I'm officially positive this story is going to blow all of your minds. :)**

 **Apologies for the long wait. I had a trip to New York last week (first time on a plane! Whoop! Three 2 hour plane rides! Yay! ((agggghhh))) And I was prepping for that (not to mention all of our teachers seemed to figure we should be bombarded with homework right before the trip. -.-) Anyways, I hopefully have a chapter worth the wait. :)**

 **Disclaimer: The 'I didn't say stop' line is from** _ **the Walking Dead**_ **which is my faded background noise for when I write, seeing as I've seen every episode at least 3 times. XD**

 **Now then,**

 **Shall we?**

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

 _2 Days Later_

Roth awoke groggily.

He blinked up at the ceiling. This wasn't Evan's apartment. What…where was he? His entire torso ached, like an extremely sore muscle, and he turned his head, rather than sit up.

"Ev…?"

Roth blinked again. No. Evan wasn't next to him. But Venin had jumped to her feet and now padded over to him, pawing his face gently.

"Ven…?" God. What the heck was going on? His brain felt like it had been dipped in powdered sugar. Everything was blotchy and hazy. Venin tilted her head, like she was confused by his confusion. "What…Where's…?" he trailed. Finally, scraping up as much composure as he could, he sat up. Immediately a sharp pain ran through Astaroth's side, and he let out a startled bleat before falling back onto the bed with a huff.

He paused, breathing harshly. "Ow." He finally decided on. Venin mewed.

"Okay. One more time." This time he was ready, and struggled to a sitting position. He cringed as another sharp pang ran through his side. _Pulled muscle_ , he figured. Lighting his hand with violet chi energy, he placed it on—oh. There were bandages. Not a pulled muscle then. Either way, he set his hand on where the apparent injury looked to be (if the dulled dried blood was anything to go on) and sighed as the pain eased a bit.

Peering around the room, he found it to be completely empty apart from him and Venin. Turning to the nightstand, Roth raised an eyebrow at the realization that it was almost one in the afternoon. Slowly sliding out from under the sheets, he quickly discovered that he was dressed in only bandages and boxers. Astaroth heaved another sigh when he caught sight of the dresser all the way across the room. His frown swiftly faded when his eyes found the glass of water and a small folded note leaning up against it.

Roth wasn't thirsty, but he happily took the note and unfolded it.

 _Back in 15. I swear to God, Roth, if you wake up the_ _ONE_ _time I leave, I'm selling your cat._

 _-Ev_

Roth gave a small grin and prepared himself. Instead of leaping up onto his shoulder, Venin jumped back to the ground, apparently well aware of her owner's injuries. What were his injuries? Evan said he was in the gym. So Roth could go down there and get answers. Ev wouldn't be happy that he had directly disobeyed the teasing orders given, but oh well.

Holding his breath, Roth pushed himself to his feet and clutched his side as he limped over to the dresser. He slipped on a black V-neck and sweatpants with much effort and discomfort, and winced his way to the doorway.

"Lead the way," he offered, following his cat in awkward stumbles.

As they reached the stairs, he cursed internally, heaving a long sigh and gazing down the seemingly never-ending stairwell.

 _Evan, you better be better be down here._

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Living Room/Kitchen_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"Okay, seriously, drugged. Twice." Spencer huffed. "It's gotta be _some_ sort of record."

"You think _that's_ a record?" scoffed Lachlan. "What about the billion times someone's tried to kill us these past few weeks?!"

"Point taken," grumbled Spencer in return. He scrubbed his face with both hands. "Man. When did our lives get so jacked up?"

Piper chuckled a little. "When we became superheroes?" she suggested with a grin.

"Well _yea_ ," Lachlan agreed with an eye roll. " _Thanks_ , Piper." The Irish said sarcastically. He smirked.

"Why do I feel like Kris is behind this?" Piper continued, snatching the plate of pancakes from Tamashi, who frowned, and piling a few onto her plate.

"Because he's an evil bastard that does things like this," answered Victor as he walked into the room.

"Amen, brother," Spencer nodded in agreement, grabbing a pancake off of his plate (without a fork…) and biting into it hungrily.

The Challengers, and now Victor, had gathered in the kitchen for breakfast. Maria had whipped up pancakes with the help of (shockingly) Evan, who turned out to be a freaking Cook God, as Piper had come to realize. So now they all sat, gathered at the island in the kitchen, scarfing down pancakes.

"Language," Maria commented, raising an eyebrow and glaring at Victor in a motherly sort of way.

Victor gave a 'really?' expression, but rephrased, "Because he's an evil _bass_ \- _turd_ that does things like this."

Piper, Eleanor, Lachlan, Tamashi and Spencer broke out laughing, while Maria gave an amused smile. Another flapjack flew into the air from the stove, Victor barely managed to catch it on his plate. A fork whizzed towards his face and Piper nearly shouted in surprise when Victor's hand shot up and caught it. He gave a dismissing glower and leaned up against the countertop, seeing as there were no seats available.

Spencer suddenly let out a less-than-manly shout and threw a large pancake, which was on its way to his mouth, into the air and onto Piper's plate. Piper looked up curiously, putting her own piece of pancake into her mouth. The others matched her expression, many of them flashing glances to each other in bewilderment.

Spencer dramatically shuttered. "There was a fly on it."

Many sighs were heaved, to say the least.

Tamashi's shoulders sagged and he put one on his face, seemingly disappointed, "Dude."

"Spence, come on," Lachlan finished off a cake.

"Why'd you fling it onto Piper's plate? "Eleanor broke out in smiles, peering over at the force-field wielder with childish hilarity.

"Yea," Piper scowled down at the ceramic white disk before her. "Why me?"

Spencer gave a shrug and plopped another cake into his mouth. "It was an accident…"

"Uh huh," Tamashi eyed Spencer, poking a pancake (that looked vaguely like a square) with his fork. "And I'm sure this has nothing to do with the Bathroom Fiasco last night?"

"The what?" Victor and Maria demanded at once.

Eleanor giggled. "Piper walked into the bathroom while Spencer was peeing."

"Ah," Maria nodded. "I see."

"Why didn't you lock the door?!" Piper cawed abruptly.

"Why didn't you knock?!" Spencer returned.

"I did knock!"

"No you didn't!"

"I thought the door was just closed!"

"The door being closed means someone's in there!"

"Well, I knocked!"

"Opening the door does _not_ count as knocking!"

"I don't know what's worse, the picture I have in my mind of Kris's sick face, or the picture I have of you peeing all over the bathroom floor!"

Spencer threw his hands in the air. "You surprised me!"

Piper scoffed, "It went _everywhere_ and turned and it was—!"

"Okay!" Lachlan shouted, raising both hands in a peaceful gesture. "Can we please just stop?!"

"Yea," Tamashi grumbled, shoving his plate away. "Some of us were _trying_ to eat."

"Sorry," Piper and Spencer muttered.

Piper shoved her own plate away. "Well, if the supposed fly is still there, I'm not eating these."

"Christ," Victor jeered in disproval. "Hand 'em over."

"But…" Eleanor grimaced. "There's a fly in them…"

"No. There's a fly in _one_ ," Victor retorted quickly, taking the plate in one hand and shuffling Piper's pancakes onto his stack. "You haven't eaten bugs before?"

Eleanor's face twisted in disgust. "Not since Hydra."

"Well, it's really not that bad. Protein." Victor explained, sticking a piece in his mouth.

Piper flicked a strand of hair out her eyes. "Um. Ew."

"Didn't you guys beat giant robots in Atlanta like a month ago?" Maria chuckled. "Who would think a fly would scare you guys? I guess Victor's the only man in this house." Victor cracked a subtle smile.

Spencer, Tamashi and Lachlan's eyes brows shot upwards. "What?!" They all hollered.

"I take offense in that."

Piper and Eleanor turned while the boys froze, mid-reach for the supposed _fly-cake_.

"Ryloth!" Eleanor chirped in surprise.

Maria set down a dish towel and walked briskly over to the young man in the doorway, hugging him tightly.

"Ow, ow, ow," Roth muttered between a toothy grin.

"Sorry," Maria backed off a bit.

"I didn't say 'stop', I just said 'ow'," Roth pointed out, his grin widening.

"Oh shut up," smirked Maria, giving the ebony haired man a shove.

"You made pancakes. I see how it is," Roth eyed the cakes thoughtfully. Piper tilted her head in confusion. "When it's just Yael, Ivy, Evan and me, pancakes never appear, but when it's a bunch of annoying teenagers, suddenly they're here."

Maria barked a laugh, striding back over to the kitchen. She scraped a pancake onto the spatula and slid it onto a plate. Holding it up, Maria gave the smile an older sister would give to a younger brother. "Here, you big baby."

"I guess I should be fair," Roth nodded, taking the plate. "Yael would eat them all."

Piper laughed at that. It was a funny thought. One of the creepiest people she knew eating a smiley-face pancake with a napkin tucked into his collar and a fork and knife in hand. What a thought.

"Have you guys had enough yet?" Maria sighed, beginning another batch. "This'll make 13 batches."

"How early were you guys up?" Roth marveled.

Piper grinned. They did love their pancakes. Didn't have any back at Hydra. She supposed they just sort of needed to make up for lost time.

"Uh…" Spencer seemed to count mentally on his fingers. "Five hours? Ish…Since eight."

"Yea, and Maria's been cooking all morning," Piper stated happily.

Eleanor smiled. "Not _all_ morning. She had a bathroom break."

"Okay! Not fair!" Maria laughed. "A woman's gotta pee!"

"And apparently, so does a man," Piper sent a direct stare at Spencer.

Spencer caught on quickly.

"Ohhhh come _on_!" he shouted loudly, obviously startling Roth, who nearly dropped his plate. Instead, Lachlan stood and offered him his chair. "I closed the freakin door!"

"Care to explain?" Roth inquired.

"No!" Eleanor cheeped.

"Don't!" Lachlan warned.

"Not again…" muttered Tamashi.

" _Well_ …" Piper took a deep breath. "We—"

"And I'm gone," Tamashi interrupted.

"What? Where are you going?!" Lachlan demanded. "I need you here!" he gestured to himself, Eleanor and Maria. "We can't take this alone!"

"Sorry, more important stuff to do," apologized Tamashi as he wandered out of the kitchen.

"More like more important _people to see_ ," muttered Eleanor with a sly grin. Quiet laughter spread around the room like an infection.

Piper peered back down at the new plate of pancakes she had been given.

Just then, a fly buzzed down and perched upon her plate.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Eleanor's Bedroom_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"I was beginning to fear for your safety," admitted Daedre unhappily.

This time the alien could be seen perched in what appeared to be a tree. He leaned back against the trunk, apparently sitting on a thick branch, his laptop in his lap.

"I know. Sorry Dae'," Eleanor sighed sadly. She was sitting crisscross applesauce on her bed, laptop near her face. The two hadn't video called since they had been in the Playground, right after they'd almost caught Kris. A good few weeks ago. "But I'm okay, see?" she gestured to herself.

"Eleanor, Pat has informed me of the attacks," Daedre announced. Eleanor's smile dropped.

"Yea…It's…It's bad, Daedre…" she admitted, gazing down at her lap. "Coulson moved us to a safe house, but there was an attack a couple days ago. One of our guards, his name is Roth, was shot."

Daedre perked up, eyes flashing alarm, and then guarding over again. "Is he…?"

"No. He's fine. I mean, I think he is. He's got powers like us. All five of them do."

"And they would be?" Daedre raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Um, Miss Maria is a shapeshifter, she changed into _me_ yesterday!" Eleanor grinned happily. Daedre gave a small smile. "Mr. Evan is an _animal_ shapeshifter. He can even turn into a kitten! And his boyfriend Mr. Astaroth is…um…I don't really know…" she wiggled her fingers around. "But he does this creepy magic-y stuff that's purple, Pat said it was Unicorn Magic, and he healed really fast. Oh, and then there's Miss Ivy. She's really spooky!"

"What is the meaning of that?" questioned Daedre. He glanced away from the screen for a second, eyes narrowing, before returning to Eleanor.

Eleanor tilted her head but didn't ask. "She just _knows things_. Like, yesterday, she was looking at me all funny so I asked her what she was doing and she asked _me_ about my old cat, Twinkles!"

Daedre stifled a laugh. "Twinkles?"

"Yea," Eleanor admitted, suddenly embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed red. "You know, like the stars…Like _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_." Daedre seemed unfazed. Eleanor gaped. She quickly sung out the words. "Aw come on, you know: _twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky, twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are._ "

Daedre stared at her.

"What?!" Eleanor demanded loudly, looking away in embarrassment again.

"You have a lovely voice," complimented Daedre with a brotherly smile.

Eleanor looked up a bit. "Thanks." Her face contorted in confusion when she noticed Daedre's admiration. "Do you have singing back on your planet?"

Daedre laughed at that. It was reserved, how she would expect it, and he gave a small smile afterwards. "One might say that. It is more of a war cry."

"Like in Narnia?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow.

"I do not know of that…" Daedre frowned.

"You know," she nearly sent Daedre out of the tree as she screamed: "FOR NARNIA!"

"Uh—" He regained his grip on the tree. "No. Not like that."

"Oh," Eleanor smiled. "Sorry."

"It's an anthem, a serenade to alert our brothers that we are off to battle. It isn't as common these days," Daedre admitted with a shrug. "But it was used commonly thousands of years ago. Now only one line remains in repetitive use."

"What line?" asked Eleanor curiously.

" _Thy who fall shall not die_ ," answered Daedre, pondering on what seemed like both fond and unpleasant memories at once.

"Hmm…" Eleanor shuffled uncomfortably. "But…"

"If you fall, Eleanor, it doesn't mean you die. It just means you need help in returning to your feet," Daedre broke in smoothly.

"Ah, I get it," Eleanor nodded in approval. "Hey, so how's it going with finding the others?"

"Unfortunately not as well as I had hoped it would," answered Daedre earnestly. "However, I have located a possible new lead and I hope to find their location within the next month."

"Month—ah—but— _Month_?" stammered Eleanor with a sad frown. "Alright…"

"Apologies, I will return as soon as I can," Daedre sighed with an understanding frown. It evolved into a small unsure smile. "And then we can watch this _Star Wars_."

"Yea!" Eleanor cheered, expression brightening. "I still can't believe they don't have it on your planet."

"Fe'Tug is actually _in_ space," Daedre chuckled. "If anything it would be _Planet_ Wars. A war that takes place only on one planet. A war that is _not_ intergalactic is a rare phenomenon where I come from."

"Huh. Weird." Eleanor contemplated the thought. She wondered if all of the things on Fe'Tug were like that. Kids that dreamed of staying on the planet their entire life, instead of kids dreaming to go to space. Movies about life on the planet, rather than wild films on space life. "What else is on Fe'Tug?"

Daedre's eyes shined at that. For the next hour he would describe his home world to Eleanor. And, as tired as she was, she didn't fall asleep.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Roof_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. base_

"Okay, okay, okay, one more time," Marie smirked. She happily threw her hand at a small stone on the gravel rooftop and flung it outwards into the night sky. A quiet 'bamf' sounded and then sounded again, accompanied by a smiling Asian. Tamashi enjoyed this. It was fun to show off. One of his many flaws, as Lachlan used to joke, was that Tamashi loved the attention.

"Got it," he held the stone in his hand, which faced Marie palm-up. "Ta da." He added for good measure. No need to mess up their first _real_ date.

" _What_?!" Marie laughed. "How in the world can you even see it?!"

He shrugged with a mischievous grin.

She smiled back.

Suddenly her emotions took over and she leaned in. He did the same. And finally—

"Woah! Keep it PG, lady and _bro_ ," Spencer shouted from the rooftop entrance. The entrance itself was a square door in the floor (well, technically the roof) and Spencer currently had his head sticking up out of it, a bobbing head of brown hair.

Tamashi gave an angry huff and retreated, moving away from Marie (much to her disappointment). He stuck out his hand and Marie gleefully complied, summoning over a larger pebble and placing it into her boyfriend's hand. A wicked grin found its way to his face as he teleported closer to Spencer, taking the force-field wielder off guard, and threw the stone with all his might.

Spencer gave an _incredibly_ , oh _-so-very_ manly shriek, the pebble smacking his shoulder, and nearly took his fingers off as he released the door. Luckily, his powers kicked in and his appendages were saved. However, Tamashi was still quite pissed off. Spencer ignored him, and Tamashi teleported back to Marie's side. That was when Spencer dubbed it the best time to move in.

He carefully squirmed in-between Marie and Tamashi, "I'm just gonna _squeeze_ in here." Was added as he slid in, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. "How goes it, bro…and bro's girlfriend…? Beautiful sunset, huh?"

Marie couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughs, while Tamashi looked purposefully away from the sunset, and off to the side in a determined glare. Spencer, apparently always in search of ways to annoy his like-brother, spoke up again. "What's wrong T? Did I come to quick? Sorry. I figured you kissed her already."

Tamashi's eyes widened and he jabbed Spencer hard in the ribs with his elbow, face burning red. Marie smiled kindly at him and he felt his face burn even redder. "Ooh!" Spencer cheered. "You didn't KISS HER did you?!" he squealed joyfully, performing a small in-seat dance.

Almost as if they'd spoken the plan out loud, both Tamashi and Marie shoved their hands into Spencer's chest, sending him sprawling onto his back. He gave a yelp, but was quickly distracted as Tamashi grabbed the edge of Marie's face gently, and Marie grabbed Tamashi's face firmly.

They kissed.

It wasn't long, much shorter than Tamashi would've liked, but Tamashi grinned like the devil as he saw Spencer's bulging wide eyes.

"Wha—I—you—Dude! You did it!" Spencer finally decided on with a wide smile.

Marie rolled her eyes and Tamashi sent her an embarrassed smile. "Alright boys, I'll let you two have your bromance." She joked, getting to her feet. She leaned over and whispered briefly to Tamashi: "I'm taking a piss." Tamashi smiled with pleasure as Marie squeezed his shoulder as she walked past.

"So," Spencer began as the door down closed. "Tamarie is like….a _thing_ now. Huh? Officially, I mean."

" _Tamarie?_ " Tamashi repeated with a scoff. "Yea…I guess…Whatever you say."

"Whatever you make out with," corrected Spencer teasingly. Tamashi elbowed him again. "Oww." Spencer whined, clutching his side. "The least you could do is use your actual arm, instead of your freakin Robo-Cop arm."

"Shut up," Tamashi snapped back with an eye roll. "And this stays between us three. No telling the others."

"Defensive much?" Spencer cocked an eyebrow, but frowned as Tamashi kept his stern gaze. "Yea, yea." He held up his hands. "Stays between us. Don't worry, dude."

"So what about you? Any—"

"You guys seen Evan?"

The two whirled, startled, to see Roth poking his head out of the hatch awkwardly, Venin clinging to the frame of the door, they had obviously been there the entire time.

Tamashi gave a long sigh. "Right. This stays between us _four_."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Hallway to the Gym_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Base_

"Evvvannn!" Roth called dramatically, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting it like a war-cry. Venin mewed loudly in agreement.

"Evan!" Marie continued, stepping over the cat, who was weaving in and out of the team's legs. She had caught up with the group after using the restroom.

"Ay-yi-yi!" Spencer cawed loudly. Three disappointed faces turned to him. He shrugged. "What? Pat gets to say it, but I can't?"

In silent unanimous decision, the four all call out in unison: "AY-YI-YI!"

"Evan! To me!" added Roth quickly.

"Evan! Here boy!" Tamashi continued with a grin.

"Evan! Return!" grinned Spencer.

"Boys," muttered Marie with a small laugh. She returned to her stony faced structure and scanned the hallway. "I dunno guys, maybe he just wants some alone time." She brought up.

Roth disagreed. "No way. He'd tell me. He said he'd be back in fifteen. The water he left me was lukewarm, he would've left it cold. It's been too long. Right, Ven?" The cat seemed to nod in a slightly unnerving fashion.

"Yea, but, you never know," prodded Marie. Roth raised an eyebrow. "I mean, no offense, but no matter how close you are," she sent an unintentional flick of the eyes at Tamashi. "Sometimes you just need alone time."

"Well, he can have alone time," Roth said stubbornly. "As soon as I find him."

Spencer sighed and began counting on his fingers, "Well we've checked the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the bedrooms, the backyard, the front yard, the basement….where else are we supposed to look?"

"What about the Gym?" suggested Marie with a shrug.

"There's also the pool," agreed Spencer.

"Gym first?" offered Marie. She sighed at the thought of the pool, which was all the way across the campus. "It's closer at least."

"Agreed," huffed Tamashi.

"Cool with you?" Spencer glanced at Roth.

"Yea, sure, can't hurt," he scratched Venin between the ears.

As they soon found out, they were terribly wrong.

The door the the gym was opened and panic erupted.

Blood had soaked the training mats, where Evan now lay. Roth's eyes widened and he ran to Evan's side, ignoring the stinging pain in his side. Tamashi put a hand in front of Marie protectively, and Spencer jogged after Roth.

What they saw made their stomach's twist.

A rugged line had been carved into Evan's neck. Roth tore off the black V-neck he was wearing and pressed it gently to Evan's neck.

"E—Evan?" Roth stammered, eyes quickly filling with tears.

Evan made no move.

Venin hissed loudly and desperately.

Evan's eyes fluttered open, pain filled.

Roth helped him to his feet, Evan appearing very insistent. He held the bloody rag of used-to-be-V-neck to his neck and accepted Roth's support.

"Evan, come on," Roth persisted, trying to pull him towards the door.

"What happened?" Spencer demanded frantically, trying to gain hold of his concentration.

"Mar," Tamashi snapped, back into his usual down-to-business vibe, "Check the video camer—"

Evan croaked out one word, and pointed a shaky finger at one of the people in the room.

"You."

 **Dun dun DUN! Who is it?! Who's the mysterious attacker?! Who betrayed them all?! Who? WHO? IT SHALL ALL BE REVEALED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! Now, I know what you're thinking: 'but AG, you said you planned a whole bunch of chapters!' Yes. Yes, I did. HAHAHH! YOU WILL NEVER KNOW!**

 **CLIFFHANGER! WHOOOO! X)**

 **See y'all next time.**

 **Update soon!**

 **Love ya!**

 **-AG**

 **Ps. If a character didn't appear in this chapter: DO NOT WORRY! THEY'RE** _ **PROBABLY**_ **FINE!**

 **And the chapter was 3,864 words (for anyone who cares) ;)**


	11. Brothers, Sisters and Creepy Cousins

Chapter 10-

 **We're back! Yay! Imma keep this short so you guys can read on. :)**

 **Quickly though, I know this isn't the Maze Runner fandom, but I love the Maze Runner and recently (for those of you who haven't heard) Dylan O'Brien was injured on set. Don't worry! He's supposed to recover fine! But he broke a few bones, so I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to him, as a Teen Wolf and Maze Runner fan, and hope he makes full recovery. For more details, feel free to look it up. But, you know, after you read the chapter. ;)**

 **So, on a happier note, shall we? :)**

 _The Backyard_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"How is he?" Lachlan sighed, turning to Spencer.

The brunette crossed his arms and shook his head. "Not good. He's just…not good."

The two peered across the backyard field at the S.H.I.E.L.D. containment vehicle. Men with loaded weapons and thick bullet proof vests stood at the ready. Two bordered the entrance ramp to the vehicle, and six more edged a path to the door.

Another three led Marie up the ramp.

Tamashi had left the moment Marie had admitted to the crime. Spencer assumed her was in his room. Pat had blown a fuse and stormed off to the small sparring area in the house to train. Skylier acted similarly, retreating to the pool to blow off steam. Marie was a girlfriend. A daughter. A sister.

A traitor.

She'd confessed to attempting to kill Evan, to attacking the boys with a mysterious virus, to shooting Roth. Now Evan had been patched up and was recovering in his bedroom. Roth was with him. Yael was a silent shadow, guarding the two men's room. Ivy kept him company, also silent.

Maria had been dragged off by Pat, Spencer swore he saw Pat literally go red with anger. Poor Maria, Spencer prayed she'd survive that sparring match. On the other hand, Naia and Daniel had been put under suspicion. They hadn't been present for _any_ of the attacks. They'd made their way up to the roof, Lachlan had said, and S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to be scrambling for evidence against them. Johanna was hard at work, being the devilish angel that she was, talking to Coulson and trying to clear their names.

Spencer turned and crossed the porch, bare feet scraping on the wooden flooring. He opened the glass door and entered the living room. He watched Eleanor walk down the stairs, presumably exiting her bedroom, which led Spencer to believe Daedre knew what was going on now. Lachlan followed Spencer into the living room and sat on the recliner, while Spencer collapsed onto the sofa, sprawled out like a bearskin rug.

Head propped up on the armrest, Spencer blinked at Lachlan. "Why would she try to kill us?" he finally asked.

"What confuses me more is that she _saved_ T and I" Lachlan's brows furrowed with thought. He cringed bitterly, continuing, "Last year, when we were with the King," Kris. "And his bitch." Aeron.

"Don't forget their dog," reminded Spencer, thinking angrily of Killer.

"Right, how could I forget," Lachlan scoffed. He paused, once again deep in thought. "Marie has no motive. She has— _had_ no reason to attack us."

There was a long silence.

"Except money," Spencer stated. "Give someone enough money and they'd do whatever the hell you wanted them to."

"Point taken," Lachlan frowned. "Pat's gonna kill Maria."

"Yea, ya think?" Spencer laughed. "Maria's gonna loose an arm."

They laughed, sure, but in all honesty: everything was terrible. This whole betrayal thing was putting a serious dent in Spencer's trust. First his best friend is murdered by a girl he's known his entire life, then he's attacked in his own home (er…base…), and now the same girl that returned his brothers to him alive has betrayed him.

So, yea, they laughed. Because their lives sucked so bad that it was laughable.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Training Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Pat let out an angry grunt, swiping out the tall man's feet and slamming Victor to the mat once again. He was throwing the matches, that much was obvious. Sure, he'd bat away her hand or punch her in the face every now and then, but he was _trained_. He'd taken down Pat countless times, decapitation or not.

The agent had walked in to see Maria with a bloody nose, but insisting that Pat continue to vent her anger via fighting. Victor quickly offered to take her place. Pat was reluctant, but only for about 0.07384% of a second…ish.

Wanna know why she was in such a god awful mood? Well, one of the _only_ people she has ever trusted recently went to the friggin darkside. Oh, and did she mention that said someone also tried to kill Pat's husband?! (Wait...hold on, if Tamashi was Pat's husband, and Marie is dating Tamashi—yea! She knew about that! Pat was no idiot!—that means, unless they've broken up ((which, considering everything going on, isn't that unlikely)) Tamashi was cheating on Pat with Marie. . .SHUT THE FFFF-FRONT DOOR.)

Now furious, Pat slammed an elbow into Victor's ribs, flipping into a spin and brought him to the ground, her foot at his neck. He gave a grunt as he hit the floor, but otherwise made no sound. Instead, he met her eyes, and got back to his feet, bringing his fists up in First Position.

Pat glared at the bruises splotching his bare chest. He had his breathing under control, but Pat could tell every breath stopped short of reaching a lung-full, obviously she had injured his ribs. The bruises and breathing problems did nothing to help heal his right ring and middle fingers, which she'd snapped by accident. His shirt had been ditched a few matches back, after Pat's fingers caught on it when she turned, tearing through the fabric and leaving the shirt a mess.

Nonetheless, Victor didn't stop.

Pat gritted her teeth. The idiot. Why the hell was he doing this? He was such a softie. Always doing nice crap for everyone. Being nice was too hard. Pat should've known that from the start. The only reason she'd stopped being who she used to be was for enough money to fill this entire house. Now, rich and immortal, she could do whatever she wanted to. Part of her realized the money wasn't the reason she joined at all.

She'd joined because she was lonely.

Pat laughed to herself. She was a freakin _loner!_ Who knew?! And crap! Guess what?! All of her so called 'friends' were gone! Yea! All of them! Marie and Skylier were the only ones she trusted! She would've given one of her lives for them! And now Marie was about as trustworthy as a unicorn without any sparkles! She'd _saved_ Marie from Hydra! Now it was Skylier and Pat against the world, and that was assuming that Skylier wouldn't stab her in the back.

 _You hear that Skylier?! Well, if you're planning on killing me, may I suggest decapitation or incineration?! It works a helluva lot better!_ Pat growled mentally.

She sent a fist to Victor's jaw. He wasn't expecting that. So far she'd left his face untouched. After all, it was nice to look at. Between that and the six pack, he wasn't half bad. But screw that. She was getting too angry to care. So her fist connected with his jaw and blood filled his mouth.

He silently left the mat, spitting into the trashcan and wiping his mouth on his arm, walking calmly back over.

Pat eyed him the entire time. She furrowed her brows, suddenly angry.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" It was said in a calm tone. As frustrated as she was, for some reason she couldn't quite muster up the ability to shout at Victor.

He didn't respond at first. And when he did, Pat wished he didn't. "Just helping a friend."

"We're not friends," Pat snapped immediately.

"You've addressed me as 'boyfriend' 23 times this week," Victor retorted in a still voice. Pat wanted to strangle him.

"Yea, well, you're not that either," Pat grumbled, turning and whipping her sweat towel from its bench. She scrubbed it over her face, just standing there with her towel pressed to her face. And yea, so maybe she cried a little, but who gives a monkey's butt?! She'd kill the first person to call her a softie.

That said, when someone's hand rested on her shoulder, she nearly left her skin (she had been in that situation before. Hoohboy, had that smarted.) Instinctively, her hand flew to smack away whoever it was. They caught her hand by the wrist.

"Get off me, asshole," Pat snarled venomously.

"Asshole? Wow, 'guess I have been downgraded," Victor said emotionlessly.

"Got that right, now back off."

"Pat."

"Back off!"

"In third grade I went to the circus."

"So?!"

"I was 10 years old and it was the first time my father wasn't at work."

"Give me a minute while I look for a crap to give."

"I saw a girl there, she was putting on an act before the show and practicing behind the tent."

"Oh la dee da, I'm sure it was love at first sight, huh?" spat Pat with a snarl.

Victor remained with a face set in stone. "The act was called _Death's Detour_."

Pat snorted. "Fancy that."

"And in it was a girl that couldn't die."

"…"

"The first thing she said to me…" his eyes softened, and then hardened again. "Was the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

 _The boy marveled at the knife in the girl's chest. A unicorn was painted on its side. The boy scoffed, but the girl spoke up in a peppy tone._

" _Do you think dying is sexy?"_

"But the second conversation," Victor continued, and he looked at her with boyish remembrance.

Pat met his eyes, lips in a tight line.

"Was possibly the most intelligent thing anyone's ever said to me."

Pat balled her hands into fists, suddenly feeling younger than she was.

" _What?" the boy sputtered. He frowned. "You're weird."_

" _Huh. I took you for more," the girl grinned. "See, that's the thing: light travels faster than sound."_

 _The boy raised an eyebrow._

" _So some people appear bright, until you hear them speak."_

Pat smiled, "It's true." She said quietly.

"I think that's the first time you've spoken that quietly," Victor smirked.

"Shut up, Valentine," Pat said softly.

Victor wiped again at the blood from his bitten tongue, teeth stained the beautiful crimson color.

"You never answered the question," Pat announced, taking a hesitant step closer.

He smiled at his feet, and carefully grabbed her waist, pulling her closer.

"Yea, it's pretty sexy," Victor admitted.

She tasted his blood as they kissed, but she didn't care.

They just kissed.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Roth and Evan's Bedroom_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Roth squeezed Evan's hand again.

Venin dozed lazily at the foot of the bed, her favorite spot it seemed. If Evan was awake he'd complain about cat hair getting on the sheets, even though he knew that Venin didn't shed. God, he wished Evan would complain about Venin. He'd settle for anything, he just wanted Evan to wake up. Roth unintentionally tightened his grip.

Evan's eyes opened drowsily. Maria had given him a pain killer to blot out the pain, so he was pretty out of it. Roth smiled, focusing on Evan's sea green eyes. It took everything in the 20 year old's power not to stare at the savage scar running across Evan's throat. Crisp white bandages covered most of it, but the stiches poked out here and there.

"You thirsty? Hungry?" Roth inquired warily. "Can I get you anything?"

Evan gave a weak smile and peered at Roth with dazed eyes. "A cough drop. Maybe the whole bag." He rasped.

Roth laughed. It seemed wrong, to laugh in a situation like this. "Ev. Someone tried to _kill_ you." He breathed, tears rimming his eyes.

"Tried," repeated Evan, squeezing Roth's hand tightly. "Still here."

Evan winced, sitting upwards. Roth buried his face in his hands, salty tears slipping down his face. Stupid. This was _embarrassing_. He'd bet money on the idea that Evan hadn't shed a single tear when Roth was shot. No, Evan wouldn't have cried. He would've known for a fact that Roth would pull through. Now Roth was completely breaking down in front of him. He cried because he was _terrified_ that Evan was going to leave him.

Evan gently tugged his hand, drawing him onto the bed. Roth slipped under the sheets, Evan scooting over to make room. The Chi-bender set his head on the shifter's shoulder and gave a long sigh, not bothering to wipe his eyes.

They sat in silent, holding hands and staring across the room at an old painting of a house in a field. They took in the careful brush strokes on the house and yellowy gold color of the straw. They both thought the same thing: they just as easily could've ended up there. Roth eyed the small scribbled signature in the corner of the painting.

"Mathew," Roth said out loud. Venin opened one eye and peered at them curiously.

"What?" Evan croaked.

"What do you think of the name Mathew?"

"Not quite there."

And they dipped back into silence.

It was ten minutes later when Roth felt an unnatural chill run up his spine. He felt nauseous. Roth brought his knees to his chest under the sheet, curling in next to Evan. Evan gazed down at him, brows furrowed.

"Roth, you're shaking."

Venin mewed and ambled over, nudging Roth's arm. He didn't feel it.

Instead, he bit his lip. He had only felt this way once before, and it hadn't ended well. Roth felt as though a creature lurked just out of sight and would pounce any second. He couldn't shake the feeling. It made his stomach do backflips and caused his skin to tingle from the wacked out chi energy in the air.

"We need to leave."

Evan's eyebrows shot upwards, "What?"

"We need to go and just…be somewhere else." Venin swished her tail in agreement.

"Why?"

Roth turned his head, looking at Evan with fear-riddled eyes. Evan frowned in concern, glancing at Venin, almost as if he was asking the cat if Roth was okay. Venin tilted her head and blinked.

"Because we have to."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Roof_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"What do you mean 'we have to'?" Naia barked in a strict whisper.

"If we don't kill them, they'll turn us in," Daniel returned immediately. He saw as Naia's eyes shifted with unease. "This isn't your first kill, Nai."

Naia looked up with narrowed glowing violet eyes. Daniel felt an invisible hand wrap around his throat. And he choked, oxygen ripped from his lungs. Naia's eyes widened and Daniel took in a breath as the pressure relieved.

Naia breathed in surprise, staring off to the side, deep in thought.

Daniel gritted his teeth. _Sigh._ He whined silently. _I always have to be the good guy._

"Didn't know you could do that," he croaked.

"We don't have to kill them," Naia stated, clenching and unclenching her fists. "We can just leave."

"Naia, you know they'll follow us." Daniel grabbed her hands gently.

"Then we'll do this the…" Naia cringed at what she was about to say and licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. "…the _legal_ way…"

Daniel grimaced. "What…?" He muttered. Blinking and processing what his girlfriend had just said. "I…er… _What_?"

"Just, hear me out," Naia persuaded, raising an eyebrow. "Let's just… _help_ them, and then maybe they'll let us off the hook…for…part of it…at least…?"

"Naia," Daniel dropped his voice. He felt the oncoming sensation that the heroes would hear every word that they said. "You killed that stripes kid."

"His name was Drew."

"That's not the point."

"And what is? Do you _want_ to go back and rot in a friggin jail cell?" she hissed.

"No, of course not!" Daniel snapped defensively.

"Then don't be an idiot. We can't _outrun_ a worldwide facility."

"I'm not an idiot. I just…don't like them…"

"Yea, I kinda got that," Naia scoffed.

"And I don't trust them," Daniel continued firmly.

"Really? You don't say."

"They could attack us."

"We could attack them."

"Why are you suddenly on their side?!"

"Why can't we be on their side?!"

Daniel silenced. She wanted to join their side? Why? What would they gain? Daniel couldn't see the point, the objective. There had to be a goal, an outcome, but for this…there wasn't one. In no version did Daniel and Naia come out free.

"I don't want to be _on their side_ , I want to live. And running means dying."

Another pause. Daniel contemplated. He didn't want anything to happen to either of them. No offense to that crazy Death chick, but dying was for wusses, so he didn't plan on doing that any time soon.

"I love you."

Naia stared at him.

It was the first time he had said that. He hadn't realized it before, but it really was the first time. If you had asked him 10 years back where he thought he'd be in present time? He'd probably say in the exact place that he was back then. Crammed into some 1x1 cell in Hydra. What a dump that place was. Didn't even serve good food. 0/5 rating.

Daniel snapped back to reality, expecting a reply.

Naia blinked. "We should get back inside. They're suspicious enough while we're in the house with them, let alone on the roof alone."

She released his hands and wandered back over the door. He followed without a second thought. He knew what he had said wouldn't be mentioned again. It was like that with her. Some things just weren't spoken of, others were nagged on forever.

Love wasn't one of those things.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Living Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Yael swept his gaze over the room. Glass sprinkled the floor, a result of the glass table being shattered. The couch had been torn to shreds by gunfire, leaving a feathery mess. He wouldn't even mention the blood spatter that had been neglected on the wooden floor. It appeared someone had tried to casually drag the carpet over it, but that plan had ultimately failed.

Yael stared at it. He missed the taste of good blood on his lips. It didn't seem to come often these days. Truth was, until the attack that had taken place, the job had been boring as hell. Yael would even go as far as to say that he was quite possibly considering stirring up his own chaos to mix things up.

Running a hand through his pitch black bangs, he gave a long sigh and stood from the recliner.

"Bored?"

Yael didn't bother turning around. "Run along to your room, girl."

"As if," Eleanor snapped. "I don't freak that easy. I've met aliens, dude. One of my best friends is a blue skinned alien from some place near Naboo."

"You really enjoy those movies, don't you?" Yael scoffed, striding past her and into the kitchen. He pulled a beer from the fridge and flicked the cap from the top with ease, sending it flying into the wall.

Eleanor momentarily stared at the metal cap now wedged into the wall by sheer force, and then turned back to Yael. She appeared impartial, but Yael knew better.

"Your friend betrayed you," he stated simply.

"Uh huh," Eleanor nodded. "That happens a lot in my life."

It was Yael's turn to be impartial. He had seen this before. Guilt-tripping people into being your friend. He knew it and disliked it. He wouldn't succumb to some little girl's petty tricks. Instead, he took a swig from the beer and examined the 13 year old curiously.

"Two of _your_ friends almost died," the human firefly brought up.

"Even if they were my friends," Yael sighed carelessly. "I wouldn't care. It is like you say, it happens often in my line of duty."

"I took you as the type that didn't have a line of duty," Eleanor admitted. "You kinda seem like the type to just do whatever he wants."

"You are not wrong."

"I'm not right either, huh?" Eleanor frowned and walked up to the island in the kitchen. A wooden stool screeched as she pulled it out, and sat down, folding her hands on the table. She pulled a juice-box from who knew where and popped the straw in, taking a sip and staring at Yael as he sipped his beer again.

"You drink a lot of alcohol," she announced. "And you like dark chocolate." Her eyes flicked to the bar on the counter.

"It's not mine," he said carefully. This girl was unique. She had an interesting mind set and goal that he had yet to figure out.

"Yea, it was Roth's, right?" she nodded. "I know." A sip from the juice-box. "That's cool. I take stuff from my brothers all the time."

Yael's response came strongly and surely. "They are _not_ your brothers."

"Yes they are," Eleanor argued directly after he hissed the 's' in 'brothers'. "I looked it up. It means—"

"A man or boy in relation to other sons and daughters of his parents," Yael intervened. "I am aware. I should remind you that I am no imbeci—"

"That's not what I was going to say."

Yael narrowed his eyes.

"There's more than one definition. Like…um…" Eleanor stopped, blinking at her juice-box. "Like 'there'. 'There' means some _place_. But 'they're' means _they are_. And 'their' means—"

"I know the differences."

Eleanor brushed a cherry brown strand of hair out of her eyes. "Okay, well, it's like that. I looked it up, and brother also means: _a male associate or fellow member of an organization_. Spencer works with me, so did Drew, and Lachlan does, and Tamashi, and Daedre. Victor too. Even people like Quintain. He's my brother, but…" her lips tightened into a line. "He's like an evil brother or something…"

"Yes, well, I don't have any of those." Yael took another swig of his drink and straightened, as if to leave.

"What about sisters? I have a lot of sisters too," prodded Eleanor, mentally pleading for him to sit down. "Piper, Pat, Skylier, Annaleise, Lana." She stopped. "Marie. Naia. Rebecca. Vandella. Emma."

"And what does that make us?" Yael inquired with only a tad of wonder.

"Um…" a small grin spread over her face, blush creeping onto her face. "You're kind of like a creepy cousin."

Yael choked mid-swallow and panted for a second, glaring at Eleanor.

"You asked," she muttered.

Yael ignored her and ambled out of the kitchen without another word. He tossed the now empty bottle over his shoulder and it landed on the counter, rattling for a second before coming to a halt, sitting upwards.

"Creepy," mumbled Eleanor with a shudder.

Yael rolled his eyes and continued walking.

This girl loved everyone like they were family. _An idiotic mistake_ , Yael thought bitterly. _It's bound to get her killed_ _some day_.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Piper's Bedroom_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

 _10 PM (5 Hours Later)_

"This is a bad idea."

"Do you have a better one?"

Piper swore under her breath. "No. I don't. But that doesn't make this one any better."

Tamashi gave his signature narrow-eyed glare. "I have to make sure."

"Yea, but why can't you go tomorrow?" Piper inquired. "Tamashi, I get that you and Marie were…" she halted, suddenly feeling awkward. "But she _admitted_ to the crime."

Tamashi scowled. "Then I want her to say it to my face."

Piper frowned in disagreement. Just the idea of her like-brother leaving the S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house, disobeying Coulson's orders to stay, breaking into a jail cell and then having a conversation with his (ex?) girlfriend, made Piper's heartbeat falter.

"T," Piper sighed. "I love you like a brother." She stated. He raised an eyebrow, wondering where she was going with it. " _So_ ," Tamashi rolled his eyes. "As your sister, I'm just lookin' out for you. You shouldn't go. What happened: happened. We need to get past it. And, trust me on this," blue eyes met green ones. Drew flashed in her mind's eye. "If you don't let it go know, it's never gonna go."

But he turned anyways, slipping open the window and leaping out into the night sky. With a quiet 'bamf' sound, he was gone.

 **All love and feels in this chapter. :)**

 **PATxVICTOR HAS SAILED. THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE. DANAIA, TAMARIE, and now DEATHEGIST/STRATEATH (eh? That sound okay?)**

 **Okay so, like I said before, calm before the storm. AND THERE IS A HELLUVA STORM ON ITS WAY. XD Now then, let's get to the usual jazz:**

 **Please drop a review. :) Reviews are like lemonade on a warm summers day: friggin amazing. :) You guys are always so sweet with your reviews too. I appreciate that. Why am I in such a good mood, you ask?**

 **MAY 2 IS THE 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SERIES! 1 YEAR! AHAHAHHAHA! WHOOOO!**

 **X) On another note, I'm hoping to turn this story into a Marvel comic book someday. Wish me luck.**

 **Drop a review or send me a PM! :)**

 **What pairing do you like the best?! Who do you want to see hook up?! What's the best sibling bond?! WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN TO OUR DARLINGS?! WILL PAT AND VICTOR EVER ADMIT THEIR LOVE?! WHAT ABOUT DANIEL AND NAIA?! And what's up with Roan?! What're they planning?! And what was with asking about the name 'Mathew'? What's the name for?**

 **Let me know what you think! :)**

 **-AG**

 **Ps. Guess who just began planning for the next Marvel SYOC? :D**


	12. Unearthly Consequences

Chapter 11-

 **What the?! Wow! I got a freakin TSUNAMI OF REVIEWS! That was awesome! I am so happy you guys like the traitor choice (especially AwesomeGirl909, creator of Marie, who was super cool about it ((thank you! (((heart, heart))))))**

 **Also, a MASSIVE shout-out to XY-GUY who has stuck with this story even though his character (Daedre) has barely made an appearance. Good news, buddy! You're character's back! :D This chapter is majority him. :)**

 **A quick explanation on the late chapter: So last week was Spring Break. My family went to Chicago, that was fun. But then on the weekend (starting Friday) I got sick. Bleh. So anyways, my class is performing** _ **Grease**_ **! Which I'm very excited about. I auditioned and snagged the role of Rizzo! :D While that's marvelous and I'm very happy, that's also been taking up a bit of time. Huff. Well, I'm gonna be working harder to update.**

 **So anyways, my internet decided to be a butt and barf a bunch of black squares all over the screen anytime I tried to reload the page (it may have to do with my 5 year old computer XD). And my iPad continuously asks me for the internet password, directly after I type in the password. Joy to the freakin world. -_-**

 **Anyways, complaint-filled explanation aside:**

 **Shall we?**

 _The Playground_

 _Cell 3158_

 _The Next Day_

"The least you could do is explain to me what in _Kami_ 's name you were thinking," hissed Tamashi angrily.

Marie clenched and unclenched her fists, looking anxiously at the floor. "I'm sorry."

Tamashi barked a laugh. "You're kidding right?" he snapped.

Marie had been imprisoned in the Playground. She had been locked in a cell in the basement. The cell was barren apart from the single bed, which was magnetically attached to the floor. Three Vibranium walls kept her there. The final wall could be turned into a mirror, a black wall, or an impenetrable seemingly invisible wall. The control pad allowed sound if wanted.

According to Coulson, the cell had held Ex-Agent Grant Ward at one time.

All of the above made the Asian feel no safer than if Marie was sitting in a cardboard box.

She sighed, seeming put out. Tamashi fumed. Marie spoke up with the voice of an angel who had committed sin. "I mean it. It wasn't my intent to—"

"Let us live? Yea, we got the gist of what your _intent_ was," interrupted Tamashi knuckles popping as he continued to fist and un-fist his hands, pacing with bottled up anger.

Marie's face contorted in fury, "I saved your _life_ , asshole."

Tamashi halted. He burned holes in the floor, unable to process what she was trying to argue. " _Excuse_ me?" First she had _lied_ , then she had tried to _assassinate_ Tamashi and his closest friends—his _family_ , and now she was trying to convince him that she _saved_ his life?!

Instead of responding, he teleported to the door and snatched the handle, imagining the metal crunching in his grasp.

"Tamashi."

" _What?_ "

"They were going to kill you."

Tamashi's eyebrow twitched in confusion. He slowly peered over his shoulder at her. "Who?"

"…" Marie's eyes flashed around, sticking when they came upon the security camera in the upper corner of the room. She grit her teeth and tapped her leg with her fingers anxiously. She didn't say a thing, instead staring at him intently.

Tamashi rolled his eyes and opened the door, slipping out without another word. He had no reason to trust the lying fox that was Marie. He cursed under his breath, automatically dropping into Japanese.

He didn't bother muttering a 'goodbye'.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Unknown Location_

Daedre ran a hand through his ebony hair. Grit and grime covered his fingers as they were retracted from the strands and he gave a long sigh. He felt naked without his suit, which was still back at the base. This was a stealth mission, no force necessary. His suit was designed to protect, to defend, to keep the host safe. It was _not_ designed for stealth. The Derga people never needed stealth, they had the numbers, resources and skills to take out a universe. Daedre disagreed with the premise of leaving his suit, while he was a man of peace, he didn't understand why he couldn't attack—strategically, mind you.

Instead, he sat, his 6 foot form squeezed into a black S.H.I.E.L.D. stealth uniform that made him feel very…human. And not in a good way. He felt defenseless. The assault rifle on his shoulder eased the tenseness, but the unimpressive soldiers that S.H.I.E.L.D. had given him (supposedly 'top notch') were nothing he envied. Fe'Tug's army was something that galaxies feared. Earth's army? Less so. To say the least.

The rest of the squadron was asleep. They all had cat-like reflexes, however, so he'd have to be careful. With the silence of someone 3 times smaller than him, Daedre stood and weaved around the mass of sleeping soldiers. He readjusted the rifle and clicked a button on the wrist of his suit; it flickered before changing into a darker shade of black.

Then he began the long hike.

The hike, of course, took a lot less time than it would have for just your average man. 32 miles and he felt fine. The facility he reached was something unworldly, massive in every way. The only small feature was the amount of entrances and windows. The building itself was a rectangular block that stretched quite a distance.

It found its home in an open space tucked in the dense woods. Daedre had tracked this location for miles. He snuck around the backway, removing two long wires from the upper arm of his suit and connecting them to a small opening control panel in the wall.

You can imagine his surprise when his suit—upgraded with advanced alien technology—was rejected from the console. Furrowing his brows, the alien scowled and picked up his communicator. He clicked a few numbers, turning his head back and forth and checking the location.

"Delta, Alpha, Ellis, Twenty-Three, Eighty-Six, Four Point Five." He said quietly into the block-like device in his hand. It bleeped once and then an acceptance screen appeared. "Glow." He said quietly.

"Dae—er—Xenon?" Eleanor chirped from the other side. "What is it?"

"I've discovered something of importance," Daedre admitted. "But I require S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assistance. My technology cannot hack their entrance locks."

"Dang," Eleanor whispered. She raised it again. "That's impressive. Okay, um, yea, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got a bunch of alien guys under their belt. Hang on. Lemme get Piper's laptop from the Office."

He waited, hearing shuffling. He was still on edge. While there were no security cameras in the brush on that side of the building, he felt very…exposed.

"Got it. One sec." Eleanor clicked the keyboard and Daedre lowered the volume on the Comm-Link. "Okay, I need the lock's manufacturing number…" she announced rather disappointedly.

Meanwhile, Daedre sighed under his breath. He disliked these _stealth missions_. They were beginning to…what was it that Spencer said? 'Piss me off'. "On it." He finally stated. The alien darted around the corner, eyeing the security camera that met his eyes. It was faced away, but slowly turning towards him. Removing it would raise alarm, as would appearing on screen, that left one option.

He quickly ducked back behind a concrete wall and waited, focusing on the tiny buzzing noise that the camera's hinge made as it rotated. When he had calculated the right moment—his calculations never failed—he slipped back out and shot at the door. A small scan and he was back behind a corner.

"X4932892," he recited to Eleanor. He heard her hum in reply as she began typing.

She finally huffed, "Okay, I found some blueprints, get back to the door. Inside, there'll be a room to your left. You can find something to disguise yourself in there. Oh, and the Director slipped an extra mask into the pocket on your right leg."

Sure enough, sticking his icy blue fingers in and threading them through the space, he met a thin plastic-y material. It was a ovoid piece of material, like a oval sheet of plastic wrap. He pressed it to his face and, with an electric blue shimmer, air was allowed back into his lungs. The mask morphed to the shape of his face, and Daedre felt a small prick directly above his left eyebrow as a miniscule blood sample was drawn. He peered down at his hands and found that his skin had turned unnatural beige, the same color that the humans possessed.

The Derga male sharply whirled, making it back over to the door with brisk movements. He found it unlocked, as expected, and lifted the device. "The hallway is empty." He swiveled his head, finding the door just as planned. "But I have found the room you spoke of."

"Dae—I—we— _chhh_ —I think we're— _chhhhhh_ —up— _chhhhh_ "

"El?" Daedre asked with childish unsureness. He closed the door behind him, as softly as possible, and dropped into the nearest room. Sure enough, lockers lined the wall. He snatched one and—giving up on the static-y link—turned off the comm-link and slid the device into his pocket.

The door opening caught his attention.

"Yea, I dunno man, I think Subject 05 could be our big break through, ya know?" a voice cawed rather loudly. It was younger, higher pitched.

"No way, dude, Subject 0 is the way to go," a second voice disagreed, this once a deeper and thicker voice.

"You kidding? That pile of rags? He's really not that impressive," huffed Voice 1.

"Yea, he's not _now_ , but he will be once I'm done with 'im," Voice 2 argued, pride filling his deep voice.

"How's that going, by the way? Are the experiments—"

The two men, the first a lanky redhead with a pair of black vintage racing goggles strapped to his head, and the second a stout fellow with a horrid haircut and an unshaven face, stopped dead in their tracks.

"Well, gee," the lanky guy marveled, raising his eyebrows. Daedre flicked his eyes between the two. He could easily take them out, but that would alert the owners of this facility that he was there, and he wasn't even positive that their enemy housed in the building.

"Huh," Stout and Unshaven grumbled.

"You must be the new guy!" the redhead—for a genius, he didn't seem to catch a clue (which, at this moment, Daedre was thankful for.)

"I—yea," Daedre replied easily, putting on a mask of innocence. He did his best to impersonate Human Slang. Eleanor had been trying to get him into it, but he was finding it tougher than he had originally imagined. "Sorry, 'guess I'm a bit late. You guys mind showin' me around?"

"Not at all, bro," Human Twig chuckled. "Sorry, what'd ya say your name was?"

"…" Daedre paused, quickly sweeping his gaze around the room. His eyes caught on a poster in someone's open locker. _Alien: Ellen Louise Ripley_ was scrawled across the front. "Allen Louis Ripley." He stated with a fake smile. "And yours?" he took the offered hand and shook it. Both Lanky and Unshaven had disgustingly grimy hands.

Lanky grinned, sporting yellowed teeth. "I'm Randy, and this is Olin."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Security Feed Room_

' _The Facility'_

"And _this_ is where we can see the security footage," Randy finished. Olin bobbed his big head.

"Yea," he said gruffly. "'lotta times we don't watch this stuff, freaks the bejesus out of me." He gave a shudder.

"What do you mean?" Daedre asked, hoping that he covered up his undying curiosity.

Randy scratched the back of his neck like a rabid dog, "Well, see, the experiments sometimes get a little messy. Kids don't always make it outta there."

Daedre froze, eyeing the two men with growing ferocity. " _What_?"

Olin lumbered over to one of the security cameras and began flicking through the channels. "You read the reports, didn't ya?"

Daedre shook his head with contained anger, trying his best to remain undercover. "No, what happened?"

"Well, the boss hired a buncha scientists to figure out a way to duplicate the X-Gene, you know, the one that gives the X-Men their shebang," Randy explained easily. "But sometimes we cut 'em open a bit too much, or take a bit too much blood."

"Don't forget the escapees," Olin said in a hushed whisper, eyes flicking about like someone would grab him from behind.

Randy's voice didn't change volume, but he gave an eerie voice, it reminded Daedre of when the soldiers would tell war stories in their free time. "Oh, no need to be secretive Ol', you know this room is sound proof." He scoffed. The scientist swiveled towards Daedre. "Every now and then a subject escapes and makes a break for it. But there're machine guns lining the border, they never get very far. Just last week, some kid broke Jimmy's nose, killed Wilson and took a run."

Olin snickered a little, "After the run he took a dirt nap."

Much to Daedre's disgust, Randy laughed along. " _Heh_ , he slept with the fishes."

"Uh huh, uh huh," Olin nodded furiously, his gritty hair bouncing around. "I put him to sleep." He said proudly.

Daedre stared at the two, their laughter ran off and they continued their conversation, as if Daedre wasn't there.

Randy hummed, "Yea, but after the dissection of that laser eyed girl last Friday, I'm startin' ta think the Bossman might be losing it."

Olin agreed with his trademark greasy haired head bob. "He's loony." He circled his finger are the side of his head, in a 'crazy' motion. Daedre furrowed his brows. These two men were _sick_ , in more ways than one.

"Then again," continued Randy, "This _is_ a research facility. Gotta do what we gotta do, am I right?"

Daedre grit his teeth, "Right." He spat through his teeth, heart sinking fast. "Did this _laser eyed girl_ have a name?" he snapped angrily.

"Woah, dude, chill," Olin rumbled, laughing a bit. "It's just some kid."

Daedre snapped, bringing his fist into Olin's nose. Randy startled, letting out a yelp, but Daedre snatched the door and closed it with intense silence. The two men stared at him (Olin clutching his nose and Randy gaping at Daedre), eyed the alarm on the wall, and then Randy made a break for it.

Daedre snatched a pencil off of the table and, with frightening accuracy, chucked it off to his right at Randy. Randy howled in pain as the stick of wood met his skin and sunk inches into his arm. "What the hell?!" Randy screamed, still stumbling at the alarm lever.

Daedre strode up to him, his walk catching Randy's stumble easily. A kick to the stomach sent Randy to the ground.

"Help!" Randy croaked as he met the floor with a grunt. "Help us!"

Daedre narrowed his eyes and growled with feral intent, "Sound proof, right?!" he snarled angrily. Randy's eyes widened and he scampered away towards Olin, who was still huddled in the corner. Briefly, Daedre remembered that if he killed these two men, the security in the building would be alerted, but the thought was quickly dismissed.

Daedre grabbed the front of Olin's shirt with his left fist, and Randy's with his right. With ease, the extraterrestrial shoved them into the wall and lifted them both by the shirt collars. "She was only nine years old!" he shouted at their terrified faces.

Olin's nose gushed blood, staining his teeth red, but he spoke up with a shockingly courageous tone. "Listen man, we all gotta die sometime."

Daedre gave an angry war cry and slammed the two men into the wall. "Was she or not?!"

"Y—yea," Randy looked on the brink of crying. Early on, everything that had filled Randy's bladder had left in a hurry. "Sh—she was nine."

Daedre bit back a cry of pain, he replaced his Threatening Mask and narrowed his eyes to slits. "Where are the data files?"

"Huh?" sputtered Randy, seeming a little shocked that he wasn't dead.

"The data files!" Daedre clenched his fists, "The records! Names!"

"Okay, okay!" Randy whimpered. "Down the hall to the left! Just let us go!"

Daedre eyed the staple gun, pen, and scissors on the desk.

No one would discover the two corpses found in the security room until much later.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Subject Records_

' _The Facility'_

Daedre sat silently, staring at the files laid across the desk before him. He'd locked himself in the Subject Records Room, and someone had yet to try to enter. If they did he'd kill them, he was sure of it. With shaky hands, Daedre reached forwards and grabbed the first document off of the desk.

 **[Subject 32]**

 **Status:** _Deceased_

 **Age at Time of Death:** _9 Years_

 **Abilities:** _Bionic Eye_

 **Oversight:** _Subject 32 lasted longer than originally planned. Live procedure was requested by Mr. Stefans_ —

Daedre stopped. Stefans. That name had become a poison in his life. Now he reads that the man had killed Vandella? With a bitterness in his mouth, the alien continued reading.

- _antibiotics were not used during the removal of the optical nerves. Bionic optic nerve was successfully removed, however there was a flaw in the procedure. Dr. Ingrid Jones imploded the subject's optical nerves, retinas and cerebral cortex after misidentifying a wire. Subject changed from Status: Living to Status: Deceased. End report._

Daedre stared at the blinking words. They had killed Vandella. They had tried to remove her eye, snapped the wrong wire, and it was over for the nine year old. Nine. She was only _nine years old_. Daedre considered throwing something, killing someone, but—thanks to years of constant training—instead contained his anger and swiped a pen from the table, slamming it into the desk.

The next file he read held a mug-shot. It was Dragunov.

 **[Subject: 38]**

 **Status:** _Deceased_

 **Age at Time of Death:** _18 Years_

 **Abilities:** _None_

 **Oversight:** _Subject 38 attempted escape upon time of arrival. Dr. Wilson Gregory was changed to Status: Deceased after Subject 38 attacked. Dr. Jim Franklin was injured and brought to Medical Bay 1. Subject 38 ran to Point 2A B4 and was shot thrice during escape. Injury one: upper fibula. Injury two: lower spine. Injury three: cranium._

Daedre felt a boulder fill his stomach. He hadn't known Dragunov well, but he had been a strong soldier. He had not deserved this. Daedre's thoughts jumbled as he remembered the video he had found locked deep in the database.

 _Dragunov's feet pounded the tile as he ran, gun in hand. He fired three rounds into some guy's chest, and slammed the butt of his gun into another man's face. He crashed through the front doors and out into the open. Daniel, Naia, Rebecca, Vandella and Emma all shout after him, but they don't have a chance of catching up. It's up to them to escape. Dragunov only felt a brief second of intense pain as his back exploded with a dozen rounds of machine gun fire._

Naia and Daniel had escaped with Johanna. The three had found the Challengers and requested help. But what had happened to the others? He was frightened to pick up the next files. Terrified, even.

 **[Subject 37]**

 **Status:** _Deceased_

 **Age at Time of Death:** _17 Years_

 **Abilities:** _Projectile magma attacks_

The next words made Daedre stiffen with heated anger.

 **Oversight:** _Blood samples removed proved too much for subject. Note: lower blood sample removal amounts._

She had bled to death. No, she had been _dried out_. Rebecca had been sucked dry of what kept her alive. She was _17_. She had been flirty, and even obnoxious at times, but Daedre couldn't imagine sentencing anyone to that fate.

Back on Fe'Tug, P.O.W.s had been interrogated for information, but once they had been proven empty of information, they were either shot in the head (an act of quick, painless, mercy) or released into the wild, where they had a chance of survival.

They would never _ever_ be dried of their blood. It was feral, animalistic, _unthinkable_.

 **[Subject 33]**

 **Status:** _Deceased_

Daedre fists tightened. He stood, eyes crushing closed. His head was pounding and his heart was beating uncontrollably. He could feel his lungs working to fast, and his stomach felt like it was collapsing in on itself.

They were all dead. All of them. All of them were gone. How was it possible? They didn't deserve it. _She_ didn't deserve it. Emma. He thought she would survive. He _wanted_ her to survive. Peering through tear-filled eyes, he glanced back at the document.

 **Age at Time of Death:** _16 Years_

 **Abilities:** _Fire projectile attacks_

 **Oversight:** _Over exhaustion should be observed more carefully in subjects to come._

That was it. That was all it said. Nothing about what kind of person she was. There was nothing about what kind of people _any_ of them were. They weren't just a group of killers, they had fears, goals, dreams, _lives_. They could've had lives—should've.

Daedre slammed his fists into the desktop, leaving deep twists in the metal. His vision felt as if it was going red as he kicked open the locked door and immediately met an armed guard in black SWAT armor. The man didn't have time to shout before Daedre's fist sent his facial bones into a shattered mess and slammed the man's brain into his skull, sending him into unconsciousness. Daedre didn't stop there, he swiped the pistol from the man's holster as he fell, shooting the man in the head.

A picture of the man and his family fell from his pocket.

Daedre stepped on it as he stepped over the unnamed guard and continued down the hall, eyes dead set, documents crumpled in his left hand. An alarm sounds somewhere off in the distance, Daedre barely noticed. He fired twice, killing two more guards as they ran at him. One gravelly voiced man shouted at him to stop, but he didn't. Instead, he fired a round into the guy's stomach.

The alien didn't bother looting every single guard, instead snatching two pistols and a machine gun off of his three most reason kills. He strapped the machine gun over his back and holstered the two spare pistols, all loaded and ready to kill. Daedre had every intention of killing everyone in the idiotic human facility.

Two more dead.

A shot to the stomach.

Two into a man's back.

One woman tried to flee, and ended up on the ground, howling in pain.

They brought in shields, trying to defend themselves, Daedre opened fire.

Blood coated his features, splattering over him like twisted war paint. Daedre dropped the empty pistol and pulled out his third and final gun. He shot the lock on the final door. More men headed at him from behind, but Daedre ignored them, he was after something in specific.

At the bottom of each document, each _record_ of _murder_ , had been a single signature.

 _Marcus Stefans_

And sure enough, when Daedre opened the door, there was Marcus. The man had broad shoulders, and faced Daedre with abnormal pride. He raised his eyebrows, casually adjusting his cufflinks.

"Mr. G'Thulic," Marcus greeted.

It was the man responsible for trapping the Challengers way back when, for trapping the Syndicate, for dissecting Vandella, for shooting Dragunov, for drying Rebecca, for exhausting Emma.

Marcus grinned, seeming to read Daedre's thoughts. "My name is Marcus Stefans and I—"

He didn't get to finish, because two bullets found their way into his heart and brain.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Beneath Caldwell Mansion_

 _Kris's Office_

"Kris, dear," Aeron said as she entered the room. Her voice lacked its usual sarcasm or flirtatiousness. Kris didn't respond, standing stiffly, his back facing his girlfriend. He clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the wall-sized television, which looped security footage of the three—Lachlan, Spencer and Tamashi, was it?—turning into stone, and the boy—what was his name?—getting shot. It showed the other one—Evan?—getting strangled.

Kris smiled internally at their pain, admiring what he did right and frowning upon what he did wrong. His assassins were doing what they were supposed to, for the moment at least. That wasn't what was nagging him, it was—

"Kris, your father…" Aeron trailed. She sounded out of place, which was abnormal. Aeron always had a sort of presence in the room, now she seemed to be a faded shadow. "He was killed by the alien."

The flirt sighed, "But he is in custody now, correct?"

"Yes," Aeron agreed. "We have him ready for anything you want to do."

Kris didn't say anything for a long while, but when he did, it sent chills down Aeron's spine.

"Prepare a jet. I'll be having a _chat_ with Mr. G'Thulic."

 **TA DA! THAT WAS FREAKIN SAD. AND HARD TO WRITE. OH MY GOD. DAEDRE IS BACK, AND NOW CAPTURED, AND HE KILLED A BUNCH OF PEOPLE. He's a changed man now! AGH. THAT TERRIFIED ME, AND IT WAS MY IDEA.**

 **Huff.**

 **So I just killed off a whole bunch of people. Please don't hate me. (Xy-Guy, I beg you.) Erm, I'm sorry for the wait…again…um…just please don't hurt me…**

 **RIP: Emma, Dragunov, Rebecca and Vandella.**

 **Please leave comments with your thoughts and opinions.**

 **Thank you to AOSISMYLIFE, Fanfictionia, SouthernSinoforian, and Phantomtwriter for the amazing characters and I am very sorry to do that to your characters, but it was necessary to the plotline.**

 **Leave a review please, they help me update and develop the storyline.**

 **I'll update soon, this time for reals. :)**

 **I'm tired, goodnight, sincerely,**

 **AG**

 **Ps. Please go check out the pole on my profile. :)**


	13. Commencing Countdown, Engines On

Chapter 12-

 **So I drew a picture of Pat. XD That's what I've been up to.**

 **On another note, I watched** _ **Godzilla**_ **(2014) for the second time. The first I barely remember because it was at a sleepover with a bunch of other girls and it was at like 3 in the morning. I decided to watch it again (because Aaron Taylor Johnson) and it was amazing. Highly recommended. I am beyond impressed. It was amazing. Like, I am not even kidding. One of my new fav movies.**

 **Okay, so…I literally was having a hard time concentrating after that movie. I've never had this affect from a movie. LITERALLY: STUNNED.**

 **Disclaimer renew: I don't own any Marvel setting or Marvel or Marvel characters or OCs (except Tamashi Kinzoku, Astaroth Briar, Venin the Cat, and Johanna, along with a bunch of extra henchmen XD) I do own the storyline though. So, y'know, don't steal it or I'll sic my readers on you (ATAAACK!) XD**

 **Btw, did you know that there's an actual fashion item called 'ninja pants'? I mean, that's, like, a thing. I dunno, I found it weird. XD**

 **Anyways, I suppose we should begin. :)**

 **Shall we?**

 _The Playground_

 _Cell 3158_

 _The Next Day_

"They're revoking your S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, if they haven't _already_ ," Tamashi informed, leaning on one of the cement walls and sighing. He was dressed in a steel gray zip-up hoodie and baggy black ninja pants with gray Converse.

"Yea, I figured," Marie nodded, dressed in a gray t-shirt and sweatpants, standard prison garbs. "How is Pat holding up?"

"She doesn't want to hear you say her name. She doesn't want to talk to you or see you," he responded, finding deep interest in the floor all the sudden. "Nobody does really." He added as an afterthought.

She frowned, biting the inside of her lip. "What about you?" Marie finally asked, a shred of hope finding its way into her voice.

"No," he answered immediately. "I don't want to see you ever again." Marie felt a pang of hurt. "But you refuse to talk to anyone else."

Her gaze hardened. "That's because I thought you'd trust me."

"That someone was going to kill me?" Tamashi scoffed. "That was already happening. That was this whole mess in the first place. It's sorta part of the job, people trying to kill you all the time." He stopped, looking up at her with rock-hard green eyes. "I just figured the one trying to kill me wouldn't be my _girlfriend_."

"I wasn't—"

"You turned me to stone," he interrupted. "Along with my brothers."

"They're not—"

"Just—" Tamashi's hands were balled tightly in fists. "Don't." Another break of silence. "Just don't." He repeated.

She deflated, unsure of what to do. This was the only person she could trust. If he didn't trust her than no one would. She had screwed up.

Congratulations to Marie Peters for winning the Understatement of The Year Award.

"They're trying you as an adult," the Asian boy outside of the cell finally continued. He had gone back to avoiding her gaze, glaring intensely at the floor. "If you know what's best for you, you'll plead guilty."

"What?" Marie furrowed her brows, eyes widening at the hurtful words. Tamashi didn't respond, still looking at the cement floor.

A buzzing echoed through the silent room and Tamashi pulled a phone from his hoodie pocket, glanced it over and brought it to his ear.

"Hello?" he muttered, quiet enough so Marie could only just barely hear him. There was a pause. "When?" Tamashi's eyes narrowed in disturbance. "Alright. Be there in two minutes." He hung up and began texting others, or so it seemed. The concerned, but focused, expression remained on his face. Marie looked expectantly at him.

"Who was it?" she questioned, long after the silence became unbearable.

"Lachlan," he replied shortly. "Daedre's signal's gone dark."

"When?" Marie's eyebrows raised. "I thought he had his suit?"

"Coulson recommended he left it here," Tamashi stopped, bringing the phone to his ear as it rung. "I shouldn't even be telling you this. It's classified."

"But—"

"You have to be Level 1 to get clearance."

"I—"

"Goodbye Marie."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Naia, Daniel and Johanna's Bedroom_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Daniel entered his room to find Naia, face cupped in her hands, curled up on the bed. To be honest, he wasn't so sure of what to at first. Naia hadn't noticed him at first, so for a few seconds he stood silently and watched as she—was she _crying?_ Where was Johanna? This seemed to fall under the 'friend problem' section of this relationship. Daniel didn't do _comfort_. That was Naia and Johanna's job.

Balling his hands into fists, Daniel took an unsure step forwards. The floorboards creaked and Naia bolted upright. She glared at him, features tight, eyes red and irritated. "Get out." She growled immediately. The psychic seemed to realize, only then, that it was Daniel. Her features relaxed and she laid back down, her back to him.

"Naia," he began, questioning what to say next.

"They're dead," Naia said, barely above a whisper.

Daniel had heard about the incident the same time that she had. Daedre's signal had gone dark, but not before he sent out a coded message. The message's originating coordinates were scrambled, Ivy had said that Daedre had probably done it on purpose (thinking he could handle whatever it was that he had found). The message read: _Syndicate dead. Advancing on target._

The white haired boy had barely known them, the Syndicate. He hadn't formed the connection that Naia had with Rebecca. He hadn't liked any of them, well, except Naia. So, while Naia was torn up and broken, Daniel felt no different. People died. That's how it was. But, as much of a jerk as he was, like he said, he did care about Naia.

"I know," he agreed, walking over and sitting on the bed rigidly. Daniel didn't like this…He looked at her uncertainly.

"She's gone," Naia stated, as if she didn't believe her own words. Naia sniffled and Daniel flinched. Naia wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be a sarcastic badass that made even Daniel a little wary. She was supposed to growl at him when he tried to touch her and psychically attack him when he tried to make a move. He peered down at his hands, which were still in his lap.

She was stronger than she knew. The other day she had used her abilities when she was angered with Daniel, even though her collar had been active. She'd done it and was unable to do it again. She had been furious with him. Now, only a short week later, she was nothing he had ever seen.

"Daniel. She's _gone_ ," Naia repeated, stuck in some sort of terrified time-loop. "They killed her." Another beat of silence. "We could've died."

He looked up at that. "Naia, you know I don't believe in God." He announced. She didn't even flash him a glance. "But _something_ out there wants us alive. Whether it's God, or Kris, or whatever the hell else there is. Someone or something decided that we wouldn't get gunned down that night, so here we are. They didn't make it. It was there time to go. But we made it. That's what's important."

She remained silent, silently contemplating. "I told Johanna. She barely knew them, so it didn't matter to her."

This sucked. Daniel awkwardly reached out, warily setting it down on Naia's back. She didn't growl or glare or kill him. He took it as a good sign and slowly began rubbing circles into her shirt. Gaining no death threats, he eased onto the bed and helped her to his side, so her head was resting on the nape of his neck. He wrapped an arm around her and she curled into his side.

If anyone asked him what had happened that day, Daniel would say that she didn't shed a tear. He would say that she slapped him when he tried to hold her. If she ever asked, he would say that she didn't give a crap about what happened to the Syndicate. Because that was her reputation, and their relationship. They shared moments, but they never mentioned them. It would weaken them both. He couldn't imagine being the battlefield and doing what those two mercenaries did, fussing over each other. It didn't work like that with them.

She cried silently, staring down at his feet and the cream colored blankets.

He finally spoke, blinking and stroking her shoulder.

"I won't let them kill you."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Subject Chambers_

' _The Facility'_

Daedre took pain well.

Back on Fe'Tug, an Experimental Pain Simulator had been developed. He had been selected to test it, not because he was the weakest or because he couldn't handle pain (because he was one of the top soldiers, and he could handle pain), but because the generals knew he could take it.

So the torture that Kris attempted hadn't had the strongest effect at first. Electricity. Water boarding. Knives. Nails. Psychic attacks. Whatever they threw at him, he remained silent, only shouting once.

But then they brought _her_ in.

They laid her out a few feet in front of where Daedre was dangling from the ceiling.

"It's a new technology," Aeron announced proudly. Daedre couldn't tear his eyes away from the corpse on the floor. "It keeps the deceased in the same condition they were at their time of death, for research purposes of course."

And with that, she left.

Daedre stared at Emma.

He could count her ribs. Her skin was gaunt. Her light brown eyes had been closed, hiding their beauty from the world. Her bright red hair was knotted, splayed out around her head. She wore the same thing that all of the experiments and subjects wore: a white tank-top and white shorts.

If he didn't know better, he would assume she was sleeping.

"Damn, you really loved her, didn't you?"

Daedre startled, lifting his head briskly. He peered around the room. _Cloaking tech. It must_ _be._ He realized.

"Listen closely, Boy Blue," a female voice hummed.

Daedre furrowed his brows. Familiar. "Who…?"

The unknown figure gave a small chuckle. "Well, when I was undercover on _your_ planet, my name was Fa'Tek."

"Fa'Tek?" Daedre repeated. She was a pretty female Derga with indigo blue skin and blazing goldenrod eyes. She had long black hair, always pulled back away from her face. She had disappeared one day. The Government had said she was killed in action.

"But obviously that was just a cover," she sighed. "I'm actually human, you know."

"Show yourself," Daedre commanded sternly. He didn't like this. He was chained up. She was in a better position, wandering free. He had a psychic link with his suit, but Aeron had mentally blocked him from contacting it. He felt powerless.

Without revealing a thing, Fa'Tek spoke up. "See, the Galactic Authorities are pretty pissed at what you've gotten yourself into."

Daedre's eyebrows darted upwards. "They know where I am? I thought—"

"That you were off the radar? MIA? You are, at least on Fe'Tug. The authorities know where you are, they're just not telling your people," the girl laughed. "Cuz, they're with the enemy."

"And who hired you?" Daedre inquired, returning to his professional mantra.

"Well, your buddy General Re'Paki's been searching awfully hard for you."

Daedre's heart and stomach lifted. Re'Paki. Daedre trusted very few people; she was most certainly one of them. She was a trusted general and a strong ally. But she had never searched this hard for a soldier.

"Searching for me? Why? Fa'Tek, what is going on? Why would they send a bounty hunter?" he briefly stopped. "Who _are_ you?"

The cloak dropped and Daedre's piercing yellow eyes narrowed. He clenched his fists. "Faith."

"Good thing I turned the security cameras off," she scoffed. Daedre peered up at the camera, finding the blinking red dot absent. "Besides, it's Killer to you," she reminded him. "Fa'Tek if you wanna get fancy."

"How?" he demanded.

"How have I been to your planet? Well, if you didn't notice, space travel ain't anything impressive lately. Stole some Reed Richards tech, mashed it up with a Stark jet, added some cosmic energy, and bam! Instant space merc," she smirked, brushing a strand of colored hair out of her eyes. "Doesn't mean I like you any. The Faith that you saw, the one with Aeron and Kris? That's the real me. That's who I am. It's not just some cover up."

So she was a sarcastic, murderous killer than? He wasn't that surprised.

"Release me," he ordered firmly, tugging a bit at his restraints. The alien held a series of electrical burns, all mid-heal, and a collection of bruises. He'd coughed up the water from his lungs, but he was all-in-all not having the most pleasurable experience he'd ever had.

"No can do, my only assignment was to find out if you were on Earth or not. Don't worry though," Faith opened the door. "You'll be out of here in no time."

Before she could fully exit, Daedre called after her. "What are you talking about?!"

Faith poked her head back into the room, a sly smile creeping onto her face. Mischief found her eyes as she spoke, "Your general just landed on Earth."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Living Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

Lachlan scrubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sorry, please explain why there are aliens in New York— _again!_ "

Coulson gave a bored expression from the television, where a video call was being held. The entire team of Challengers had gathered in the living room of the safe house, in order to attend the call. Meanwhile, on Coulson's side, all of the allies they had gained stood behind the Director. Task Force 0 remained upstairs, where they shared their own meeting of their next course of action.

"Not as unusual as you think," Lana chirped from behind Coulson. Lachlan switched his gaze to the violet-haired girl. "Over half of our superpower manpower is not of this Earth."

Lachlan sighed and relaxed back into the recliner. Eleanor and Piper sat on the sofa, Eleanor scratching the nail-polish off of her thumb nail. Spencer sat upside down next to them, his legs dangling over the edge of the headrest, while his head nearly touched the floor. Tamashi sat in front of the couch, head resting on Piper's knees, Spencer's head basically on his shoulder.

Pat and Skylier had taken to the armrests of the couch, while Victor sat to Lachlan's right, on the recliner armrest. Naia, Daniel and Johanna stood behind the couch, looking untrusting but interested.

"Why are you so surprised?" asked Pat honestly. Lachlan raised an eyebrow. "Our lives are so friggin screwed up." She huffed.

Mutters of agreement and nods took to the room like Tony Stark to his armor, quickly and sarcastically.

"Unfortunately for you," Coulson continued, eying the team members. "You're still technically required to be under lockdown for another two weeks."

"What?!" Spencer demanded, tumbling off the sofa and onto Tamashi. The two lay in a tangled knot as an eruption of complaints filled the air.

"You can't just keep us here!" Tamashi growled.

"That's not fair!" Piper chirped.

"I wanna hero again!" Eleanor complained.

"It's too normal here!" Pat grumbled.

"This sucks," muttered Victor.

"Why?" demanded Skylier.

"Can we go back to our cells?" Daniel huffed.

"This is—!"

"You can't—!"

"We don't—!"

"—unicorns!"

"—not my—!"

"—lockdown!"

"We don't want to—"

"Enough!" Coulson barked. He glared sternly at them. "Those are your orders. Follow them."

"Yes Sir," mumbled the heroes.

"Agents Callen and Thalmow will be pitching in on our side," Coulson stated.

Lachlan peered back at Annaleise and Lana, realizing that they were both wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. gear.

"Alert Agent Cooper and Mr. Briar," Coulson sighed. "They'll be assisting."

Lachlan met eyes with Piper, who nodded. She stood, stepping over Spencer and Tamashi and heading upstairs. The symbiote-wearer turned back to the screen.

"Keep us posted."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Lilac Street_

 _The Neighborhood of Brooksville – New York_

 _23 Minutes Later_

The entire populace of Brooksville had retreated into their homes and locked themselves in their basements. Why? Well it probably had to do with the shapeshifter, his boyfriend (a Chi-Wielder), the soul-bender, and the deity waltzing down the street.

Or perhaps it was the blue shaded aliens marching at the heroes from the opposite direction.

Leading the squad of men is a single female soldier. Her skin was dark, the color of the ocean, a mix of blues. Her hair was shoulder length and pitch black, straight locks skimming her armored shoulders. She seemed to be about Daedre's age, maybe a bit older. She was muscular, toned even, and Lana had no doubt that she could take down both Roth and Evan, who were a good few inches taller than her.

The scariest thing about her wasn't her small army of WWE Fighters (all with matching bluish skin tones), or her menacing glare (accompanied by narrowed ivory eyes), or her sturdy (but lean) armor, it was the 3 foot blade that she carried at her side.

"You are ' _S.H.I.E.L.D._ ', yes?" she spat the name like a poison on her tongue. Her voice was deeper than Lana thought it would be. Not, like, man-ish deep, but it was definitely lower than your average girl. Maybe it was just the strict way she spoke, like she had all of them in the palm of her hand. Lana didn't like it. It reminded her of Kris.

"Yea," Roth nodded, his voice unthreatening, fists glowing with an eerie indigo fire. "That's us."

Her ivory eyes narrowed to thin lines, in an almost _accusatory_ gaze. She gave Roth a certain look, one of disapproval, and turned her attention to Evan, instead. "Then you know Sagint Daedre G'Thulic."

Evan titled his head, trying to get a read on the woman. Roth and Lana shared a glance. 'Sagint?' mouthed Lana. Roth subtly shrugged.

Evan spoke, "We know _of_ him."

The woman scowled, looking like she had been seriously offended. "Then I demand his return."

"What?" Evan scoffed. Roth lifted an eyebrow, confused.

"Excuse me?" Annaleise inquired at the same time.

Lana fingered the I.C.E.R. at her belt. She didn't like this. Something was… _off_. There was some sort of telepathic energy coming off of this woman, she could feel it. This lady's soul was bound with telepathic strings.

"Why do you need him?" Lana asked carefully. She lowered her eyebrows, studying the alien's every move.

"That is none of your concern," the woman growled. "All that matters is that he is our _kin_ and he will be returned to us." She seemed to stare right into your soul. It made Lana uneasy. There was something very familiar about it. It reminded her of the security men that they had at Hydra.

"Actually," Annaleise argued calmly, "It is. He's a member of our organization, so we need to know who the hell you are."

"You dare threaten me with your Earthly underworld?" the woman snarled. Her sword blazed furiously, as if it felt her anger.

Annaleise held her hands up, realizing that she had made a mistake. "That's not what I—"

The woman eyed her raised hands, "You challenge me?!" she was astounded and enraged. Her eyebrows raised and she frowned, almost seeming shocked at the idea.

Annaleise frowned back at her, "No, I—"

She immediately reverted back to her calm exterior. "Good. Then you will return Sagint G'Thulic."

Roth's frown deepened. He clenched and unclenched his fists. Lana eyed him warily, worried that he would make a stupid decision. He was a smart person, he knew better. He spoke with regret, "We really can't do that. I'm sorry, but you have to explain what's going on."

"I will not take orders from _Kree scum_ like _you_ ," she hissed in return, staring daggers at Roth.

"Wh—what?" Roth scowled, fists lighting with indigo chi-fire.

 _What the hell is a 'Kree'?_ Lana was supposed to be a genius. And yet, she had no idea what a Kree was. No, she recognized it, but not enough, not enough to give her information.

"I do not fear a war with your people, _War Mongrel_ ," the woman barked furiously. Roth tensed and the woman flicked a glance over her shoulder.

Faster than Lana could process, one of the soldiers lifted their arm, bringing a large rifle with it. However, instead of the usual shower of bullets, a large ball of electric glowing plasma shot forwards at incomparable speeds. Lana shielded her eyes, reacting quickly. The smell of burning flesh caught her nose.

Lana blinked open her eyes. Blinding spots of white light found their way into her vision, making some places blurry. She turned, looking over to see a smoking figure. _Roth!_ She shouted mentally. Lana's eyes focused and immediately widened, shock overtaking her features.

"Rhinoceros hide," Evan turned around slowly. He had covered Roth, shielding him from the blast. His back is a charred mess, but luckily it was as Evan had described, and appeared to be as sort of animal hide, not skin. The shapeshifter smirked. "You know," he pulled the tattered remains of the flannel he was wearing off his athletic frame. "Kismet here, your so called ' _War Mongrel_ '—" Evan hissed the words like a mad dog. "—got me this shirt for my birthday last year."

Evan turned his gaze to Roth. Lana watched as they shared a glance. Roth looked surprised, but otherwise alright. Evan looked back at the woman. "So you are very _very_ lucky that we're not like you. We don't just _attack_ people. Because, if we did, I don't think you'd last very long." He challenged.

The woman sent him the look of the devil.

"Look," Annaleise stepped in before things got serious. "We can't get him for you."

The lady opened her mouth.

"We _can't_. We physically _cannot_ ," Annaleise reiterated.

The woman's mouth snapped shut. She spoke again, this time in a more relaxed voice. If Lana didn't know better, she'd almost say the woman sounded concerned. "And why not?"

"Because he's been abducted. His signal went dark earlier today," Roth explained peacefully. Lana could tell he was trying his very hardest to contain Evan and himself from lashing out at the woman.

She growled, "Abducted? Who taunts my people with this action?" Fingers clenched around blade handle.

"We're not sure," Evan sighed, letting off as much steam as he could. For the better of everyone. "We think it was the same people that kidnapped a few of our colleagues."

"We don't have the resources or people to help," Lana nodded disappointedly.

"Then I have pleasant news," the woman slid her blade into a long sheath across her back. With a shining white smile, her eyes lit up with excitement. Lana knew right away that she enjoyed fighting.

She continued. "I am Mejit Jaoeia Re'Paki, and you have my and my army's support in this battle."

 **Ta da! A new character appears! And she's got an army! ("I have an army", "We have a Pat." XD) Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed the prep for this chapter.**

 **My great friend, Xy-Guy, is amazing. He thought out every detail for his character (Daedre) and even invented this new one, Re'Paki. He also thought up the 'Sagint' and 'Mejit' terms. He thought out an entire story for that guy. It's pretty cool, PM me or him for the details if you're interested. :)**

 _ **Sagint**_ **is Sergeant.**

 _ **Mejit**_ **is Major.**

 **Military terms, people. :) Hint hint. War. Hint hint.**

 **And what was with the Kree ref?! Is Roth a Kree!? AND KILLER?! She's a galactic merc?!**

 **Let me know what you think! I love PMs and reviews especially! :)**

 **FOR THE POLE: Pat and Victor's ship name is….PICTOR! With 4 votes! :)**

 **Go check out the brand new pole that I posted, the question is: "Who is your fav couple!?"! :)**

 **-AG**

Ps. **The title is a ref to David Bowie's song Space Oddity. :)**

 _~ "Ground control to Major Tom, ground control to Major Tom_

 _Take your protein pills and put your helmet on._

 _Ground control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six)_

 _Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three)_

 _Check ignition and may God's love be with you. (two, one, liftoff)" ~_

I thought it fit well. :)


	14. We're All Insane Here

Chapter 13-

 **ITS….ALIIIVVEEEEEE!**

 **Yes. Yes I am.**

 **Thanks for the patience! I have been run ragged from musical rehearsals, schoolwork, my grade's graduation prep and acid reflux (not recommended, by the way). I've also been working on drawings (Pokémon Avengers because why the hell not?!) and some prep for the new story (with help from Elianora Annora). :) Not to mention my bro's b-day, my mom's b-day and CIVIL WAR! Which was amazing and highly recommended. And then of course our performance of Grease, more Graduation Prep and the Graduation itself. XD**

 **Point is, I'm updating now. :) And will be attempting updates again from now on, especially because of Summer Break being started. So:**

 **Ooooh Chapter 13. I mean, technically the last chapter was Chapter 13 but…ah, well. This one will be more Bad-Luck-Because-It's-13-ish. :)**

 **Oh and guess what? This series is now over 400 pages long. :)**

 **For the wait, here's an EXTRA LONG CHAPTER! WHOOOOO! XD (heheh that was an accident…)**

 **Dedicated to** _ **Guest**_ **, whoever you may be, for reminding me that people are relying on me to update. :)**

 **Shall we?**

 _Subject Chambers_

' _The Facility'_

 _The Next Day_

Daedre spit a combination of water and darkened blood onto the floor.

"I do so enjoy our time together," Kris sung as he cleaned the blade of a large knife with a red cloth. "Now, shall I ask again? Where might your allies be hiding?"

"I can narrow it down," managed Daedre. His feet were connected to chains, which buckled to the floor, and he hung by chains from the ceiling. "They are on this planet." He said cockily.

Kris narrowed his eyes, glanced at the knife, and then slashed across Daedre's chest.

The alien winced, but didn't voice an expression of pain. "What?" He gritted. "That is very useful information."

"You talk when spoken to," Kris stated evenly, grabbing Daedre's face and forcing them to meet eyes. "Now _tell me where they are_." He growled.

Kris had the ability of mind control. Daedre could feel his thoughts swimming. He tensed his muscles, focusing on his training. " _Earth_." He sneered back at Kris.

Kris huffed, releasing Daedre and slamming the knife down into the metal cart carrying his tools. Daedre smirked. Kris picked up his tie from the cart and began putting it on slowly. "I suppose this can wait until tomorrow then."

"I…" Daedre grimaced and bit back a gasp of pain. "I...suppose it can…"

"Same time tomorrow, Mr. G'Thulic," Kris cooed sarcastically as he closed the door.

Daedre released a slew of Derga cusses before he let out a sigh and opened and closed his hands, trying to regain feeling in them. Today it was water torture, tomorrow it'd be fire, maybe even some weaponry.

He'd been alone in this cell for a good long period of time. It was starting to get to him. Emma being there didn't help at all. Aeron had been correct, the technology kept Emma from decomposing or diminishing in appearance. She still looked healthy, still looked asleep.

The sound of exhausted breathing caught Daedre's attention. The hissed profanity that followed came as even more of a surprise. Daedre narrowed his eyes, trying to hear for any other sound.

"Hello?" he asked quietly.

There was a pause. Daedre's eyes flicked around, glowing yellow in the practically black room.

"Who're you?" came a reply. Daedre's eyes widened. The voice sounded tired and young. Maybe, 18 years old? Tops. His voice was scratchy, probably from underuse. Daedre was tempted to respond, but this could be a trap.

"I could ask you the same," he answered in a low tone. The alien glanced at the security camera. It didn't appear to have sound, but that didn't mean they couldn't see him speaking. He kept his lips barely parted, as if he was simply breathing.

"I…I don't remember…" came the raspy reply. "They—" the boy cleared his voice. " _They_ call me Subject 0."

Subject 0. Kris had mentioned other subjects before. Daedre didn't know how many there were, although Emma had been Subject 33.

"I am…" Daedre contemplated using his alias. He didn't know this boy. "Daedre." He sighed. When conversation ceased briefly, Daedre picked it up and edged it on. "Do you have abilities, Subject 0?" he inquired as politely as possible.

"Not yet," Subject 0 replied unsurely. "The guy…ah…"

"Kris Stefans," supplied Daedre.

"Hm," hummed Subject 0 in agreement. "He said he was selling me to someone else. That they'd give me my abilities."

Daedre scowled. Abilities shouldn't just be handed out. People shouldn't be sold. These things should be choices. Gaining enhancements to your physical being was something that changed your life for all of eternity. Lachlan had been forced into his supernatural abilities, he struggled immensely at the beginning. Only after years of assistance had he mastered his symbiote. These children wouldn't have such training.

"But he got bored…" Subject 0 announced suddenly. "And they did the experiment…" the boy stopped, and when he spoke next, his voice cracked. "… _themselves_ … "

"You have abilities? You are…" Daedre searched for the right words. "…enhanced?"

"I…yea…I don't…I can't remember what I can…" another endless sentence.

From what Daedre had gathered, the experiments were just that: experimental. This boy, Subject 0, could've died if they went wrong.

"How long have you been here?" Daedre questioned. He spotted a drain on the floor. _That must be how I can hear him_ , he realized. Subject 0 responded and, sure enough, it echoed out of the drainage pipes.

"Dunno…a while," Subject 0 confessed. Daedre noticed as his tone slowed a bit. He didn't sound at peak condition.

"You sound tired," he voiced out loud.

"I am," Subject 0 consented. "They give me this… _stuff_ every day. Injections…Keeps me off my feet…"

Everything added up. Kris was collecting. Or, Daedre supposed, Marcus Stefans was collecting and Kris had taken over because of his father's most… _unfortunate_ death. Kris had been collecting people and selling them. After being sold, they would be taken to PlaceUnknown and given abilities. No doubt, it was an imperfect system and people would die from failed experiments.

This facility was used to study abilities. Kris would study super powered people, dissect them in search for answers. He would collect and deliver subjects to PlaceUnknown and the subjects would test the newest attempt at powers.

It was a sick system and Daedre was determined to stop it.

Footsteps echoed outside of the cell, a patrol, and Daedre hushed his tone. "Are there any others?"

"Like us…?" Subject 0 reiterated. Daedre nodded, even though Subject 0 couldn't see him. The other boy seemed to take the hint, assuming the silence as a yes. "Yea. Probably. This place is huge." Before Daedre could respond, Subject 0 continued, completely out of context. "I used to have a…a girlfriend…" It was a realization, something Subject 0 hadn't noticed until now.

"What was her name?" asked Daedre curiously. If he could get Subject 0 to remember more, even small facts such as these, it was a start. The fact was that this girl, whoever she may be, was most likely killed by Subject 0's abductors and—

"Johanna. Her name was…Johanna…"

What was it that humans said? Ah.

Well shit.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Roth and Evan's Bedroom_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

They had been alone until this point. Well, no, not true. They had been _mostly_ alone, in a safe house, by themselves. Then the whole traitor event had happened and Evan had been left to figure out what the hell was going on in this screwed up group of teenagers.

At least he had Astaroth, it made it more worth his time. Oh, and then they have that bitchy alien lady. She had really pissed him off. Not only had she tried to kill Roth, but she had threatened Evan. Idiotic move on her part. Now she had been openly welcomed into the Playground and was meeting with the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, after she'd passed S.H.I.E.L.D. security and agreed to peaceful terms, she announced that they had 'the entire Army of Fe'Tug' on their side.

What in the actual Hell?

Evan had no idea what _that_ was supposed to mean, all he knew was that there was a bunch of blue skinned humanoids wandering around all over the place.

"Ev…"

Evan looked up with a focused gaze.

Roth was standing across the room, at the edge of the bed. Evan's boyfriend had dismantled a pistol and was working on re-mantling it. The weapon would be used for the oncoming mission to rescue Daedre. The coordinates of his location had been discovered after a short scan on the origin point of his message sent to Eleanor.

Roth hadn't said a word since the group's return to the house. The couple had gone up to their room directly after debrief. Apart from a short shower, in which the Chi-wielder tended to sing, Roth had barely made any noise at had only seen him assemble and dissemble the gun over and over again. It was a stress reliever, which wasn't a good sign. Stress relievers in use meant that Roth was stressed. Even Venin looked anxious, eyes flicking about from her perch on the bedside table. Evan figured he'd just wait until Astaroth was ready, or until Venin gave him a sign to act in her usual creepy too-human-to-be-cat way.

"Did you hear what she said about me?" Roth asked quietly. Venin perked up and Evan felt the same reaction spark in himself, lifting his head in interest.

"Who? Rapicky?" Evan raised an eyebrow. Not even a laugh.

"Re'Paki. And yes," nodded Roth in all seriousness, looking grim.

"Nah, I was..." Evan paused, choosing his wording carefully and recalling the moment. "A little pissed. Why?" His brows furrowed cautiously. "Did she say something about _us_ ….?"

"No," Roth admitted quickly. He slowed again, as if struggling. "Not us. Just me. She called me 'Kree Scum'."

Evan raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was just some Alien slang. Does 'Kree' mean something to you?"

"I guess not," Roth ducked his head and Evan walked over, wrapping his arms over his boyfriend's shoulders and chest. "But it's bothering me. She didn't say it like it was a good thing."

Evan didn't respond to that. Instead, the two returned to packing up for the assignment. Evan silently contemplated what Roth had said. Kree. He made a note of looking it up. "Hey Roth?" he voiced aloud.

"Mhm?" Roth looked up curiously. He seemed less outwardly concerned, although Evan knew he was most likely panicking inside.

"I left my phone downstairs. Back in a sec," Evan promised. Roth nodded. Evan looped his arms over Roth's shoulders. "Don't think about it. Whatever a ' _Kree_ ' is, whatever she thinks you are, I won't let her hurt you. Okay?" Roth didn't look at him. "And I won't let it change my opinion of you. Alright?" he nudged Roth gently, grinning a bit. "Okay?" Evan pecked him on the cheek.

Roth gave a small smile and pecked him back. "Yea. Okay."

"Maybe 'okay' can be our 'shut up Coren'," a grin crept up onto Evan's face. Roth was a sucker for _Fault in Our Stars_.

"Shut up!" Roth broke out into smiles as well, shoving Evan in the chest playfully. "Go get your damn phone!"

Evan snickered and backed out of the room. He heard Roth's movements pick up with a loss of depression. Evan's smile faded once he left the room, as if a switch had been flicked.

It was his job to keep Roth happy. He took his jobs _very_ seriously.

He fingered his pocketed phone. It had been there the entire time. He had known.

Skipping steps, he made his way briskly down the staircase and into the kitchen. Ah, just as expected, there was Spencer's laptop. He wouldn't mind, he knew. Besides, he was busy in Eleanor's room, keeping her company.

Evan slipped the laptop open and clicked away quickly. Spencer's password was pretty easy. He had told Evan it early on, saying that if he ever needed the laptop, he could use it, thus this moment. He quickly typed ' _spencer-likes-pie'_. It was accompanied by an eye roll. The force-field wielder's wallpaper was what seemed to be a picture of Tamashi in a pink and purple unicorn hoodie, giving the middle finger at the camera. On his left, arm over the Asian's shoulders, was Spencer himself and on the right was Pat, who gave a peace sign.

Evan ignored the ridiculous picture and opened the S.H.I.E.L.D. browser.

 **Kree**

He typed.

He furrowed his brows at the many files marked 'TOP SECRET' or 'LEVEL 10 CLEARANCE'. The first file that he came upon that wasn't marked with one of the two, was immediately clicked.

It was a photograph. Was that…Ms. Marvel? And….who was Captain Marvel? Er…Mar-Vell? Marvel Boy?

 _What is with all of this 'Marvel' crap?_ Evan wondered with a scowl. A little decoding and Evan had the name of 'Marvel Boy'. Noh-Varr. Huh. Noh-Varr and Mar-Vell. Coincidence? Evan thought not. He continued to research.

 **Noh-Varr**

What do you know? Noh-Varr was a teenage Kree. And, surprise surprise, Captain Marvel also fell under the category of Kree. But what was a Kree? Evan knew they were some sort of species. And—

Wait. Re'Paki had called his boyfriend a 'Kree scum'. Was…was Roth a Kree?

No. That can't be right. They have blue skin. Evan sighed. Yet, all of the Kree superheroes were Caucasian. "Shit, Roth…" he scrolled quickly through the page, screen illuminating his face. His eyes darted around the screen as he took in the images of deformed blue corpses, bloody wars and Kree ships that had crashed on Earth. "What are you?" Evan whispered.

"Human, last time I checked. Why? Did I do something to throw you off?"

"Maria," Evan's eyes widened. "What? No. Nothing. Sorry. Talking to myself."

He quickly closed the tabs, closing the tablet soon after. The animal shifter briskly walked past the shapeshifter and jogged up the stairs. Maria eyed him curiously. Evan ignored her, _way to play it cool_ , he grumbled internally.

His boyfriend was an alien.

He was _dating_ an alien.

An alien _war species_.

He sighed.

This is what happened when you woke Evan up too early, everything went to hell.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Roof_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

 _NIGHTFALL_

"Bull. Crap."

"It's not bull crap, Pat, it's _logic_."

"I refuse to take those _scumbags_ with us!" Pat growled, lunging at Naia, Daniel and Johanna and pointing an accusatory finger at them. Victor quickly restrained her.

The Challengers had gathered with the Trio on the rooftop. Pat, Victor, Lachlan, Piper, Eleanor, Spencer, Tamashi and Skylier stood on one side, while Daniel, Johanna and Naia stood on the other. The two groups glared intently at each other.

Daniel furrowed his brows angrily. "You won't know your way around the damn facility without us, you psycho!"

"TAKE THAT BACK YOU WHITE HAIRED HOOKER," Pat screamed angrily. Spencer tried to ignore his pounding headache.

"SHUT UP!" he barked angrily. "This is getting us nowhere."

"BUT—"

"Shut. Up." Hissed Spencer again. Pat gave a threatening look. "You heard me," challenged Spencer as his fists lit up with glowing force fields. Pat scowled and crossed her arms in a silent tantrum.

"As much as I hate them, and _trust me_ , I do," gritted out Spencer. "We need them if we want to get Daedre back.

"And we _need_ to get him back," chimed Eleanor from his side.

"But why do we need all of them?" Tamashi inquired logically in his usual emotionless tone. "Why not just take one of them?"

"Standing right here," Daniel grumbled. The ninja and the assassin narrowed their eyes and glared in unison.

" _Because_ ," Naia snarled, welcoming herself into the conversation, "Daniel's not going without _me_ , and _I'm_ not going without _Johanna_. So you either take all of us, or we jump off this roof right now and you lose everything."

Spencer narrowed his eyes, searching the older girl's face for any signs of false truth. Naia brushed a lock of ink black hair from her eyes, but remained straight faced.

Lachlan disagreed and spoke up easily, "You're lyi—"

"Try me, Symbiote Boy," Naia interrupted strictly.

The smirk that Daniel gave _pained_ Spencer.

After a tense silence, Johanna stepped forwards. "Let's just…cut to the chase…" she huffed. "Are you agreeing to the deal or not?"

The Challengers glanced around themselves. Spencer met eyes with Lachlan.

 _No,_ his leader warned him.

 _NO, YOU SPARKLE-LESS UNICORN_ , shouted Pat through pure expression.

 _I trust you_ , eyed Tamashi.

 _I'll follow you_ , Piper nodded unsurely.

 _We've got your back_ , Skylier glanced around.

 _Think: strategy_ , urged Victor.

 _Get Daedre back_ , Eleanor looked up at Spencer with wide eyes.

"Fine." Spencer sighed.

Lachlan nodded once, accepting the agreement. "Piper, disable Naia's collar. Tamashi, get Daniel's. Spence', watch Johanna."

"Ai ai," muttered Spencer half-heartedly.

Piper walked calmly over to Naia, typing in the release code and watching as the collar clattered to the ground. Tamashi, on the other hand, paced over to Daniel, roughly slicing the collar off with his katana, and nicking Daniel's neck with the blade in the process.

"That's it!" Daniel growled, shoving Tamashi with all of his strength. Tamashi, caught off guard, went flying into the roof's pavement.

Spencer swallowed the discomfort he was feeling. Tamashi was still working through his pent up anger about Marie, and Daniel was basically a psychopath. This. Would. Not. End. Well.

Within seconds, Daniel had a katana whipped from Tamashi's sheaths and the two were battling each other in intense close-combat. The audience took small steps forwards, but were quickly warded back with wide slashes from the swords. Tamashi teleported behind Daniel, Daniel grabbed his foot and threw him into the ground. Tamashi sliced at Daniel, Daniel slashed at Tamashi.

Spencer rolled his eyes and finally broke them up, trapping them in their own personal bubbles. Both Daniel and Tamashi ran full force at each other before realizing the hard way that it was now impossible. Daniel's head connected with the invisible wall, while Tamashi's nose began bleeding from impact.

"Are you two done?" Naia and Piper demanded in unison. They glanced at each other, but nothing more than that, both understanding what had to be done.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Kitchen/Living Room_

 _TURF – S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House_

"Let's get a move on," encouraged Lachlan eagerly. "Task Force 0 won't be asleep for long. They tend to take shifts. They might've heard us already."

"Damn straight."

The groups spun. Spencer's eyes widened as he watched Evan lean casually against the doorframe, Roth appeared by his side moments later.

He spoke up cockily. "So, ah, what would you say to 'this is all a big misunderstanding'?" he mused.

"I'd say it's a load of bull," answered Yael as he covered the second exit. "But if you insist on saying it, then please."

"It's a big misunderstanding," Spencer pasted a smile on his face and shrugged.

"Care to explain what exactly you're doing?" asked Ivy, popping up behind Yael. "Because I see no real explanation for helping out the sociopaths that tried to kill you… _many times_." She reminded them. Naia glared in her direction. Ivy ignored her.

"Listen, we're trying to help," Johanna raised her hands. Ivy pulled a gun.

Maria stepped out from her space in the final exit to the room, two pistols loaded, and safety off. "I'm hoping this is some sort of weird trick to get them back into their collars." She stared at the duffle bags that the Challengers and Trio were loading with weapons. "I take it I'm wrong."

Tamashi and Daniel had perched on the countertop, sharpening their katanas (Daniel using Tamashi's spare). Naia, Piper and Lachlan talked strategy to their left. Spencer, Johanna and Skylier loaded guns and packed them into duffels, while Eleanor cleaned knives and Pat and Victor spoke quietly by the fridge. Everyone's attention turned to Task Force 0.

Winter snarled from Yael's feet, Venin hissed.

"We can't let you leave," Maria explained slowly.

Spencer watched Lachlan sigh. "Unfortunately that's not your choice."

"Daedre's our teammate. We have to get him back," Piper tried uneasily.

"He's more than that," Eleanor argued. "He's _family_."

"You have five minutes to return to your rooms," threatened Yael. "Or we take you down."

The Challengers turned to their leader, Task Force 0 focused solely on Lachlan.

Evan's eyes narrowed at the Irish-born. "Come on, kid, you know the best choice."

The shapeshifter's features morphed. He slowly sunk to the ground on all fours, pale gray fur sprouting from his skin. His tailbone elongated until it was a tail once again. Patches darkened until black spots speckled his fur, the pattern finished right as his face morphed into a muzzle. Within seconds a snow leopard stood in front of the teenagers, hackles raised and quietly growling.

Roth lit his fists with flaming purple energy, dropping into a well-practiced stance. Venin perched for a leap. Yael slowly pulled out his longswords, Winter lowering himself to the ground in an attack pose. Spencer figured since the Challengers were going for blood, so were Task Force 0. This thought was further proved when Ivy removed two expensive pistols from their holsters.

A sharp cracking sounded and Spencer snapped his gaze over to Maria. Something bulged out from both of her sides. They continued to grow, splitting holes in the shirt. Suddenly Maria had four arms, all toned and ready for battle, two of which carried pistols.

Spencer peered over to Lachlan. There was a tense silence as the two groups awaited a decision. Spencer switched his weight from one foot to the other, creating force fields around his fists. Lachlan clenched his fists, looking to the ground. His eyes snapped upwards to meet Maria.

"Then I guess we fight."

Spencer's eyes widened briefly, but he caught himself and focused. A split second later he was shoving an invisible wall towards Roth, sending him flying backwards into the staircase.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _ **Maria/Imitation**_ **VS** _ **Lachlan/Anguish**_ **and** _ **Johanna**_

Maria shouted as Spencer leapt, charging at Lachlan. Lachlan felt Anguish explode all at once, sprouting from every crevice and overtaking the hero in an instant. He snarled, colliding with Maria. The two wrestled. Maria quickly pressed her gun against his side. Lachlan startled a bit, but didn't budge.

"Don't think I'll hesitate," growled Maria angrily, sweat beading his forehead and brown hair plastering her face.

"Go to—"

 _Bang._

It was Maria's turn to startle when Lachlan only flinched.

"That's gonna bruise," he remarked as he shoved her to the ground.

 _Oi, Butler, what's your problem!?_ Snarled Anguish.

 _Can we please not right now?_ He returned, jogging after Maria as she skidded across the living room floor.

 _I got all that beauty sleep and what do you do? Get me bloody shot!_ Anguish grumbled as Lachlan pinned her down.

 _God, you're such a diva._ He lifted his fist and—

Maria bucked, punching him in the face and side at once and sending him slamming into the couch. Lachlan cringed, but got back to his feet, only to have Maria slam the side of her foot into his jaw bone. He collapsed backwards onto the couch harshly, sending it tipping backwards. Maria pulled out her gun and pointed it at his temple.

You can imagine the surprise that Lachlan felt when Johanna leapt in to assist him, tackling Maria from the side. Lachlan swiftly stood, a steely gray Anguish-made-tendril sprouting from his arm as he lashed out at Maria. The agent snapped furiously, standing back up and whipping both Johanna and Lachlan across the face. Lachlan felt an angry red mark fade into his human skin where she had slapped him.

He turned back to—

Ah shit.

Johanna peered at him for assistance as she wrestled…Johanna…

Lachlan hesitated. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap.

"Come on! Stab her!" growled Johanna1.

"Let's go, kill the bitch!" snapped Johanna2.

"Ah…" Lachlan frowned.

 _Niiiceee, now there's two…_ Anguish whispered flirtatiously.

 _Shut up,_ Lachlan snapped silently.

Beginning reluctantly, but picking up into a full-fledged attack, Lachlan ran forwards, slicing open one of the Johanna's cheeks. Blood seeped from the wound and Maria recoiled, shifting back to herself. Lachlan punched her again, sending her to the ground.

"How'd you know?" Johanna peered at him with brightened, trusting eyes.

"I didn't," fear peaked in her eyes. "I didn't care which one it was," he continued. She looked betrayed. Anguish chuckled. "We're not friends, remember?"

The two turned back to see Agent May looking up at them, cut in her cheek vanished.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _ **Yael/Red Bird**_ **,** _ **Winter**_ **and** _ **Ivy/Ghost**_ **VS** _ **Pat/Death**_ **,** _ **Skylier/Black Knight**_ **,** _ **Victor/The Strategist**_ **,** _ **Eleanor/Glow**_ **, and** _ **Piper/Siren**_

Eleanor fired a beam of light at Ivy. The woman dodged, firing two shots at the small girl. Eleanor squeaked in surprise, but nothing reached her, for a certain immortal had stepped in. Pat stared disapprovingly at the two bullets lodged in her throat. They would've hit Eleanor between the eyes.

Pat opened her mouth and—Eleanor tried to shout in surprise when Pat "spoke". It was a series of garbled hisses and gurgles. Pat raised an eyebrow, almost as if to say 'woah. That sounded funky.'

Pat opened her mouth and shriek split through the air. The shriek wasn't hers, however, it was Piper's. Piper's scream met Yael, who had attempted to sneak up on Eleanor and Pat. Piper strode over, Victor and Skylier at her tail. Pat spit bullets out of her mouth and joined them, Eleanor at her heels.

Winter lunged from the floor, sinking his teeth into Pat's arm.

"Yow!" she shouted, voice returned. "BAD DOG."

Yael's eyes narrowed. He darted forwards and slammed his katanas down, right as Pat lifted hers to stab Winter. She was unsuccessful, instead bringing her sword up further to guard her face. Eleanor figured they shared the opinion that decapitation wouldn't be good in this situation.

Eleanor took action and fired a beam into Yael's chest. He _snarled_ and skidded backwards, thrown from his feet. Ivy came to his aid, guarding him as he got up and battling off everyone who dared attack.

Eleanor and Piper ran at Ivy, while Victor, Skylier and Pat attack Yael again.

Eleanor ducked as Ivy aimed a kick at her face. Ivy spun, landing back on two feet and dipped downwards when Piper cawed at her. Eleanor shot a beam from her hands, directed at Ivy's legs. She didn't like the idea of killing. Not after what happened to Drew. Piper leapt in for another punch, swinging wider this time.

Ivy dodged and furrowed her brows, as if realizing something.

"I bet Dominic would hate you if he was alive," Ivy announced reluctantly.

Eleanor gaped and Piper staggered, punch flying past Ivy's face as she basically tripped into the enemy. Eleanor quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to safety. Piper's face had gone pale, a look of horror in her eyes.

Eleanor turned back to see Ivy looking sharply at her, the same look of unsure confusion on her face.

"Comply Subject Theia," she said simply.

Eleanor recoiled, rapidly stepping backwards until she tripped and fell backwards to the floor. "Ah—how do you?"

The tests. Oh god the tests. Ivy knew about the tests. How did she know? Eleanor had never spoken of it. The other Challengers barely knew. Subject Theia. Hydra used to call her that. They made her comply. They wanted her to comply. She had to comply, so she did. But she was free of them now. She—oh god. How did Ivy know?

Suddenly a muscular arm was around her neck. Eleanor gagged, arms snapping upwards to grab at the arm as she was clicked back into reality. She struggled to lift her head, seeing Yael looking out around her.

"Don't move!" he growled.

Eleanor looked with tear-lined eyes around her team. She had gotten distracted. Piper was being pinned by Ivy, who pointed a gun at the siren. Pat looked angry that Yael had the advantage. Victor stayed loyally at Pat's side, his gun aimed at Yael. He was a great shot. A marvelous shot. A—Yael tightened his hold. Victor wasn't that good. Skylier clenched her fists, guns fisted tightly. Winter released a low growl, tensed and ready to pounce on Victor if he moved.

No one could move. It was a stalemate.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _ **Evan/Hybrid**_ **VS** _ **Tamashi/Kensaku**_ **and** _ **Daniel/Quintain**_

The snow leopard bared its fangs, razor claws extended as it lunged at Tamashi and Daniel. Tamashi had felt a great deal of anguish when Daniel had tagged along to help him defeat Evan. Not by choice, of course, they had just chosen the same enemy.

They glanced momentarily at each other, agreeing to partner up, before dodging the leopard and unsheathing their katanas. _His_ _katanas_ , the ninja noted with a grumble. He was used to using dual katanas, so using only one was a little unusual. Daniel on the other hand, was having a ball. He leapt around Evan with precise accuracy, landing and bouncing away as soon as Evan spun at him.

Evan snarled and that's when he actually let everything out.

Suddenly the snow leopard was a lion and a massive paw was swinging at Tamashi. The boy 'ported out of the way and over to Daniel. The lion had transformed into an anaconda and was flying at Daniel's form. Daniel didn't have time to dodge, quickly bound around his chest. Tamashi raised his katana and brought it down on the snake. His sword dinged off of the suddenly hard skin. The snake's skin had morphed into that of a turtle's shell, but the animal remained in the shape of a snake. Daniel was wheezing, becoming red in the face as he struggled to raise his katana.

Tamashi teleported, grabbing Daniel and leaving the snake to fall to the ground. The boys barely resurfaced, Daniel giving Tamashi the usual shocked 'That's the Port?! What the hell, dude?!' face that the ninja received anytime he 'ported with someone. Evan fell towards the ground as a snake but hit the floor as a kangaroo. It propelled itself forwards at the boys and shrunk in size.

Tamashi furrowed his brows in confusion when it seemed to disappear completely. The two boys looked at each other, standing back to back and holding up their katanas. That was when a sharp, intense, pain shot through Tamashi's neck. He shrieked, katana clattering to the ground and hand flying to his neck. That didn't help, because the pain then laced his hand, sending him flailing backwards to the ground as he frantically batted at himself.

Daniel didn't seem to understand, because he stood, baffled, gazing down at the Asian.

After a third attack under Tamashi's left eye, earning another shout of pained anger, Daniel furrowed his brows.

"It's an ant!" he realized out loud.

Tamashi, having a great view of the ant that was fiercely stinging him, watched as the ant disgustingly grew wings. He didn't get to see much more, as his eyes were watering and his entire face and throat stung with a fire that could easily be compared to walking over flaming charcoal with a nail in his foot (he would know, he's done both).

He did, however, hear as Daniel screamed in alarm, the ant had bitten him. Daniel shouted again, this time more in distaste.

The winged ant had apparently morphed into its second attack. Tamashi raised his head, wiping furiously at his eyes. He wished he hadn't. The ant had morphed to the size of a small bird. Bird like wings, those of a peregrine falcon to be exact, extended from a grotesque large ant the size of a mouse. Evan turned his insectoid head towards Tamashi, whose eyes widened.

"Woahwoahwoah—wait—hold on—"

It flew at Tamashi with the speed of a hummingbird and sunk its pinschers into his human shoulder. Tamashi angrily swatted the ant with his metal hand, releasing a completely manly scream, only to hear a sickening hollow sound, like he had struck an empty shell. Tamashi tried not to gag, only refocusing when a scorpion's stinger grew and jabbed repeatedly into Daniel's hand.

Daniel had been trying to help Tamashi get rid of the ant-thing, but now Evan had attacked and stung him. Daniel shook out his hand with a pained snarl and the scorpion landed back on Tamashi's leg. The poor ninja had been attempting to get back up, but froze and looked almost pleadingly at Evan.

Tamashi swore the bird-ant-scorpion smirked.

Its stinger was lightning fast as it jabbed Tamashi's leg. The Asian felt the reaction immediately, pain flaring up and making his fingers twitch and feet tingle. Without a second of hesitation, Evan leapt and dug his stinger into Daniel's side. Then again. And again and again. The two boys lay stunned side by side on the ground as Evan morphed back up into a human form, but with muscular snow leopard paws. He pinned the two down with the massive paws.

He began applying pressure to their ribs.

Daniel turned to Tamashi and furrowed his brows while widening his eyes, as if to say _GO._

Tamashi raised his eyebrow, wheezing as more pressure was applied. He could barely focus, and Daniel wanted him to 'port? His eyes wandered around, dazed.

Daniel was mouthing something.

 _Astronaut…?_

Tamashi scowled in confusion, pain flaring in his cheek. Something snapped in Daniel's chest and the boy bit back a whimper, gritting his teeth and turning sharply back to Tamashi.

This time he got the idea.

Ohhhh.

Tamashi and Daniel looked up at Evan and smirked with smiles to match the devil. Evan showed his fangs in confusion. Breath leaving his chest, the Asian brought his feeling-less tingling arm up and set it on Daniel's arm. FocusFocusFocus.

Tamashi 'ported them both.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _ **Astaroth/Kismet**_ **and** _ **Venin**_ **VS** _ **Spencer/Psyox**_ **and** _ **Naia/Vixen**_

Roth slammed into the staircase, snapping three of the supports as he flew backwards, indenting into the wall upon impact. Venin, who had fallen off, jumped up and hissed loudly. Naia twisted her hand at the cat and it mewled, curling up on itself. The psychic glanced at Spencer, who stood to her left.

They shared a look in which they agreed upon a truce, eyes hardening, and turned back to their shared enemies.

Roth's eyes caught sight of Venin scrambling on the ground and his eyes narrowed to slits, violet fire blazing his irises. Spencer and Naia both hesitated, before throwing another attack. Roth stood and the two struck at once, Spencer throwing an invisible punch and Naia clapping her hands together and giving Roth a headache.

Spencer saw his powers differently than everyone else. If he wanted a wall, he picture a clear wall with white outlines and it was there, but no one else could see it…or so he thought. Because, when the teenager imagined a fist that was invisible to anyone else's eyes, it appeared and he threw it at Roth…and Roth caught it…

He reached up and caught the fist.

The invisible fist.

Scowling furiously and twitching from the headache, the young man took casual steps down the staircase. Crushing the invisible fist in his hand, lavender fire burning stronger than ever, Roth seemed to almost smile at the two. Spencer felt a pang of confusion, a load of surprise and a hint of terror as the young man neared. He winced as his focus was broken and the force field was obliterated.

Naia furrowed her brows and concentrated, sending a mental explosion into Roth's mind. He flinched, but turned to her sharply afterwards.

"What was that?" he asked. "You might want to _try_ if you plan on winning this fight."

"Asshole," Spencer snapped. Roth lashed out with lightning speed, fist burning with violet chi fire. He clutched both Naia and Spencer around the throat. They struggled, scrambling for a grip as they were raised from the ground.

Spencer squeezed his eyes shut. To think that this was the same man that had been dunked by his boyfriend and swam with the Challengers only days earlier. The same man that had playfully batted Spencer over the head when the force field wielder had offended his cat.

Spencer's eyes snapped open and he swept his gaze over the battle. Johanna was battling two Lachlans. Yael and Ivy had the upper hand in a battle against majority of the team. Tamashi and Daniel (of all people) had teamed up and were trying to take down a mutant ant.

Spencer kicked with all of his strength, sending his foot flying into Roth's side. Roth jolted, loosening his grip. Naia and Spencer bucked in unison, sending the Chi-Wielder backwards. The psychic and force-field-user fell to the ground in bundles of coughs, clutching at their throats and gasping. Spencer felt a sharp sting and turned quickly to see Venin's claws digging into his hand. He grabbed the cat by the scruff and pulled with all of his might, yanking backwards.

Venin remained firmly in place, seemingly dead set on causing Spencer as much pain as possible.

That was when a signature "BAMF" sounded and everyone's gazes flew upwards to where Tamashi and Daniel seemed to fall from the ceiling, landing directly on top of Roth. Although in obvious pain, Daniel yanked Roth's arm backwards to pin him and Tamashi held his two katanas to Roth's throat.

"ENOUGH." They shouted in unison, voices raw.

And everyone froze.

Spencer rotated his view, looking back at the previous battle.

Evan furrowed his brows, looking torn and unsure. The fire withered in Roth's eyes before flickering out. The two shared a gaze, Roth breaking it to look at the katanas at his neck. Evan quickly unbuttoned his holster, setting it and its gun on the floor. He raised his hands in a show of peace. Tamashi and Daniel turned their gazes to the next group.

Ivy watched the events, distracted on accident. Pat leapt in and tackled her to the ground, de-arming her swiftly. Yael hesitated only a moment at the hostage situation before continuing to battle, however he was greatly outnumbered now and was dogpiled to the ground with a lengthy grouping of cusses.

The group turned with scary determination and a frightening look in their eyes towards Maria, who was surrounded.

"Hold on," she said immediately, raising her hands and morphing back from Lachlan to Maria. "Listen, you can leave, okay? You won. Fair and square." Most of the Challengers turned off their powers then, turning back towards Lachlan for their next course of action. Eleanor's hands died of their light. Piper closed her mouth. Pat and Victor sheathed their weapons.

"But," Maria continued suddenly. "If you _do_ get hurt out there, we can't help you."

"Sure you can," interjected Spencer as he got to his feet, even offering a hand to Naia. "You can help us free our friend."

"It's not really a choice," admitted Tamashi from where he stood behind Spencer, katana still raised. "You're going to help us."

Maria let her arms fall to her sides, the safety of her team overtaking her priorities.

"Okay. Fine."

 **Whew. That took forever. Evan's scene was so much fun to write. XD Poor boys. Heh. I'm so mean.**

 **Anyways! Let me know what you thought of the chapter! Again, I'm sorry for the REALLY LONG wait but I hope this 6,350 word long chapter made up for it. :)**

 **I have a poll on my profile! Thank you to everyone who voted already and if you haven't, please do! The results of the last vote are: *drum roll* DANAIA! Danaia is the fav couple! WOOHOO! X)**

 **So, let's review, Roth is a Kree. SUBJECT 0 DATED JOHANNA! WHO IS THIS GUY?! I'll give you a hint, if you go back and read about when Johanna first describes how Kris kidnapped her there are some clues. :)**

 **As sad as it is, this story's almost OVER! X( I wish I could keep it going but there's only so much I can do with these guys, you know? And I think it'll be nice to have some fresh faces. Speaking of which, I plan on posting the new SYOC as soon as this story's finished. It will be finished within the next month if possible, but we'll see.**

 **Thank you all for sticking with me and I love you all!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **AsgardianGrizzly**


	15. To War (Pt 1 - Unsurety)

Chapter 14-

 **Anyone else really excited for my next SYOC? Because I am. Obviously I really love these characters and storyline and all of you insane psychos out there XD, but I'll admit I'm getting pretty dang excited for the next story. :)**

 **Sorry for the longer breaks in-between chapters, I'm starting to plan out a novel on top of everything else and I'm at a very confused point in my personal life. Not depressed or anything you guys need to worry about, I'm just sorting some things out. I will update whenever possible because I do, honestly, love this story and all of you people. :)**

 **SPECIAL SHOUTOUT: To** _ **Elianora Annora**_ **(for always being there and supporting me :) and taking time from her free time to speak with me),** _ **Xy-Guy**_ **(for his endless encouragement and hilarious nicknames :)), and** _ **Green Eyes Wander**_ **(although she's probably not reading this, she is a talented writer of another fandom and she inspired me to continue this SYOC for all of you.)**

 **Now then,**

 **Shall we?**

 _Marcus Stefans' Office_

' _The Facility'_

"Well I know that they aren't just sitting on their asses waiting for us to make the first move," guaranteed Aeron with a sigh. She crossed her arms, which were dressed in silky white gloves that reached the elbow. A fluffy fur tail wrapped around her neck in a scarf, and complimented her crimson red gown.

"Indeed," Kris nodded. "But I feel as though they have something we don't know."

Killer glanced over to the security cameras, where Daedre hung from his cell. Unbeknownst to him, it was just a little longer until he was freed. He peered up at the camera and she casually sat down on the desk, blocking the monitor as he yanked on his chains. He didn't need another torture session; he had far too much on his plate already.

"I'll make a call," Kris announced finally. He stood from where he had been sitting at his desk, fingers interlocked and chin resting on hands, elbows on the table. Striding with unnatural elegance over to the bookshelf, he removed his phone from its charger and lifted it to his ear.

Aeron spun on her heel and turned for the door, beckoning Killer after her. Killer obeyed, anything to keep her cover. But, while Aeron stayed in the room and locked the door, she stopped behind the closed door. Men marched down the hall. Scientists scampering off to their next experiment around her, Killer pressed her ear to the door. She listened intently.

"—yes, your attack on this place will provide the perfect cover for the oh-so-brave Challengers deaths," Kris sneered. "So they _better_ not escape the battle alive, understand?"

"Yes Sir."

Killer narrowed her eyes and listened harder. Another patrol passed by and this time the men looked at her suspiciously. As they passed, Killer slipped into her invisible form and continued listening. She knew that voice. Crap. Who was that? She'd seen them on the videos. Kris had multiple traitors in the heroes' facility, so it wasn't a shock that he was speaking with one.

"Now how are things there?"

Putting the phone on speaker was an unusual move on Kris and Aeron's parts, but Killer wasn't complaining. She wanted to know who she had to kill when they arrived.

"Everything's…normal…I guess…It's about as you would expect it to be," a pause. "Sir." It was added as a second thought. Whoever it was couldn't have been that distant from Kris, because they seemed unnaturally comfortable.

God. Killer knew that voice. Who was it? Dammit! She knew this! It was on the tip of her tongue.

Her eyes widened in realization. She released a few words in a hushed whisper. "Oh my God it's—"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Re'Paki's Jump-Ship_

 _Squad 403_

"Alright, here's the plan:"

Lachlan spread his arms wide as he flattened a large piece of white paper over the flat console in the center of a large control room. Two pilots drove the ship, twisting dials and flicking switches while they turned and angled two joysticks and peered out a vast impenetrable alien glass that had an unusual bluish hue.

The entire interior of the vehicle was a strange unearthly violet, combined with sections of black and steel grates on portions of the floor. Smoke emerged from certain areas, multi-colored lights blinking in various places. Pipes and wires that pumped like veins covered the walls and creeped onto the ceiling like vines. The entire spacecraft reminded Lachlan of something from a Sci-Fi movie.

He scribbled a name onto the paper, in the left corner. "Force One will be Spencer, Yael, Evan, Roth and Johanna." He glanced at Re'Paki for approval. The blue-skinned woman nodded in approval, arms crossed and eyes unreadable stone. "They'll be in charge of long range external attacks. Think 'hands free'." He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

The small force listed glanced around at each other and nodded confidently. Evan subtly snagged Roth's hand, Roth bringing up his other hand to Venin. Yael uncrossed his arms, jamming one hand into his pocket and letting the other drop to Winter's fluffy head. Daniel looked almost protective of Johanna, sending her a side-glance to which she nodded.

Re'Paki, a respected male soldier known as Tali, Task Force 0, The Deceitful Trio (as they'd been dubbed), and the Challengers had all crammed into the open control room, circled around the table-like console in the center. It was tight, but they somehow made it work, although many of the members poked their heads over someone else's shoulder or stood on their tiptoes.

Re'Paki had dismissed her soldiers into two dozen other stealth-mode vehicles, where they flew in formation beside the ship. She had explained that usually they would have an army of thousands on their side, but the cross-galaxy retrieval mission for Daedre was supposed to be in-and-out and therefore she had only grabbed a "small" crew of a couple hundred.

"Mejit—" _I hope I'm saying this right_ , Lachlan commented silently. He let out a breath of relief when she nodded in approval. "—Re'Paki and I have been chatting and we've decided that the person equipped to lead this force is obvious." The stoic leader turned to his culprit. "Eleanor. We think you fit everything needed."

The young teen's mouth dropped open.

" _Holy Hoth_ ," she said quietly, everyone's eyes meeting her. Eleanor glanced around the room, cheeks burning as she suddenly felt uncomfortable. She closed her mouth quickly and stood up a bit straighter. "Y—Yea. Okay." Lachlan admired her courage, sending her a reassuring smile.

Spencer ruffled her hair. "I got your back, El." She sent him a slightly dazed grin of thankfulness.

Re'Paki raised her voice. It was stern, well-rehearsed, Lachlan noted that she had obviously been through many battles and strategy meetings. "The second force, Force Two, will consist of Lachlan," the Major and the Leader met eyes. "Naia, Victor and Ivy." Lachlan intended to keep an eye on Naia, and just in case she caused trouble: "And will be led by Piper." Piper had strict eyes that read battle-ready.

"Alright," she agreed. "What's our task?"

"Stealth and combat, locating Daedre," Lachlan answered. "Group Eleanor will work defense as you get into the facility, then you're on your own. You locate Daedre and get him out. Retrieve and extract."

"Um, sorry," Naia raised a finger, brows furrowed and a glare fit on her face. "Not to be an asshole, but why is _she_ —" the finger twirled over to Piper. "—on _stealth_? Her only talent is screaming like a dying canary..."

Piper bared her teeth. "You wanna go? I've got a special song just for you." She threatened.

"Siren," Lachlan warned. Piper glared but stepped back. Nevertheless, Lachlan sent a visual warning to Naia, who narrowed her eyes. "Fair question. As you obviously don't know, Piper is one of our best combat-ready S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. She can take out a man twice her size, and isn't afraid to. Don't underestimate her, don't anger her—" Anguish peeked out, turning Lachlan's voice to an sharp snarl. "—and _don't_ pester her, because if I don't pound you into the ground, then she will. We clear?" Daniel looked like he wanted to protest, but he intelligently kept his lips sealed, obviously noticing the number difference. Lachlan didn't pretend not to notice when many of the members fingered their weapons. Lachlan smiled, feeling as nearly everyone in the room got chills. His tone changed. "Good. Glad we settled that rationally."

Re'Paki continued when Lachlan didn't, still feeling a bit on edge. She kept her gaze for a few extra seconds on the symbiote-infused boy.

"Force 3 will be led by myself and Coren," Pat beamed excitedly. "and will include Skylier, Lana and Tali."

The so-far-silent soldier at Re'Paki's side looked up for the first time. He had light blue skin, like morning in winter, and strange white irises that distanced his features from Daedre and Re'Paki's yellowy eyes. Straight black hair had been cropped into a military buzz cut and the Corporal (or _Coros_ as they called it on Fe'Tug) dressed in finer armor than some of the others.

His voice was deeper, but still young, like that of a 20-25 year old. "We will patrol the skies in Derga vehicles, taking out anything that threatens the mission from above. Scouts believe that Mr. Stefans has access to high tech vehicles in this new facility, and it is because of that precaution that this force has been commissioned."

"Woah, wait, I get to fly a jet?!" Pat's eyes widened with the delight of a crazy in an asylum. "Hahaha. Yesss…" she smirked.

"After the mission is complete we will also be in charge of… _terminating_ the facility. To put it lightly," Tali continued.

"And that means…?" inquired Skylier.

Lachlan turned to her. "Explosives."

Pat's eyes lit up like New York City.

"And finally, we have Force 4," sighed Re'Paki. "Lead by Agent Maria Cortez," the woman looked up at the Mejit with a military understanding occurring between the two. "this team will consist of Annaleise, Daniel and Tamashi." Lachlan watched his Asian friend start a new glare-off with Daniel. "and will work exterior close combat. They will fight anyone who gets too close to _any_ group. A large responsibility." The soldier's eyes narrowed at the two boys that silently feuded. "I should _hope_ that you can handle it." Both of their eyebrows shot upwards and they nodded once in agreement. Lachlan almost chuckled. They were more alike than they thought.

"Good," nodded Re'Paki. "One hour till destination. Do with it what you wish."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Bunk 43_

 _Re'Paki's Jump-Ship_

Eleanor paced the spare bunk anxiously.

She was terrified of being a leader. But Lachlan trusted her, so she was going to do it anyways.

After about fifteen minutes she flopped onto the bed of a soldier she had never met, but who had died in battle and left a spare bunk, to which Re'Paki had directed her too.

The Derga people didn't actually need sleep for long periods of time, which was strange to Eleanor, but they each got their own bunk anyways, something for comfort in rough times. Most of the bunks were just used for personal artillery storage, from what Eleanor could tell, but this one seemed relatively barren of weaponry.

The 13 year old had learned from Daedre that Derga people didn't often…erm…you know…s-word…But they did have the capability to do so. Those who did often left their children on Fe'Tug with the designated trainers, who would turn them into soldiers. The children didn't really have a childhood with their parents, instead focusing on training, which was completely fine with the kids, in fact that's just how it worked on the planet. And yet, when Eleanor turned to the small wooden bedside table, she spotted a photo pinched between two pages of a book.

The book itself was a hardcover novel with a red cloth cover and strange black symbols for writing. Eleanor couldn't read a word. She instead opened the book to its proper page and turned it in her lap, gazing at the picture almost tearfully.

The late soldier whose room she was in sat to the left in the picture, a wide smile on his face. He had a deep Mediterranean skin tone and more common bright yellow eyes. His head was shaved down, and he wore what almost looked to be more casual everyday armor. His arm was wrapped around a pretty Derga woman with elegant features, icy blue skin, and long black hair. Between the two was a small boy with both arms raised and a happy giggle almost echoing out of the picture into Eleanor's ears. He had his father's bright yellow eyes, and his mother's icy blue skin.

Eleanor flipped over the picture.

"Tajit." She read out loud. The living light looked back at the front of the picture, thumb grazing over the small boy. "Don't worry, Tajit, I'll keep your daddy's honor, okay? I'll fight for the both of you."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Viewing Deck_

 _Re'Paki's Jump-Ship_

Piper's eyes caught every detail as they flew thousands of feet in the air, nothing but clouds in sight. She slipped a hand into her pocket, eyes still glued on the clouds, and pulled out a small folded piece of paper. It had been ripped from a book. A very nice book. A book she had never finished. No. She had never ever finished it. Because her reading partner had died. He had died and left her to rot here without him. But that was okay, because she was content and happy with her life, so she ended up not rotting.

The page.

It was crumpled and crinkled from numerous foldings and multiple accounts of being accidentally left in her pocket while being washed. The text still stood out, however, and it was this page that she had highlighted one line.

" _You love me? Real or not real?"_ And then " _Real."_

Lines said by two favorite characters, Katniss and Peeta. Characters that Piper had never learned the fates of, which was fine with her, because the book wasn't the reason she had the paper in her pocket.

It was the post-it note that was stuck to the crumpled page that counted.

She'd memorized it, but read along with the school-taught perfect handwriting anyways.

 _You fell asleep, so I marked the page and left the book here for when you wake up. We'll continue tomorrow._

A smiley face was drawn.

 _Sleep tight and drink some tea for your throat when you wake up._

And then, in a practiced schoolboy signature:

 _-Drew_

Piper never got to hear the end of the book. She'd fallen asleep. So Drew had stopped. And the next day he had died. He'd died in battle, and they'd never finished the book. The last line she'd heard before slipping off into a dream was _"You love me? Real or not real?"_ and then _"Real."_

He had never finished. But that was okay. Because he promised he would continue tomorrow.

So Piper would wait until one tomorrow when she would wake up with Drew at her side. And he would finish the book. And she would smile. And they would drink tea together. Quietly, in the lonely viewing room onboard an alien spaceship, Piper Harpers stared at the note and whispered:

"Real."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Spare General's Quarters_

 _Re'Paki's Jump-Ship_

Victor entered the room and sighed at the sound of alien bed-springs creaking under stress, then releasing, then creaking. He looked up to find one Pat Coren standing atop a large dormitory bed in the center of the wall across from him.

"What's wrong?" Victor inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothin'," shrugged the immortal.

"You're jumping on the bed," he pointed out, hazel eyes following Pat's form as she bounced up and down. "Something's wrong."

"Just—" a bounce "—enjoying—" a bounce "—the comforts—" another "—of alien furniture—" Victor walked over as she took another leap, and landed on her butt on the bed. "—darling."

She smiled up at him half-heartedly and then grabbed his wrists unexpectedly, yanking him onto the bed with her. He landed seated on her right, and easily wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her half-shaved head on his dark shoulder. It was peaceful for a few minutes, Victor thinking vaguely of their upcoming mission as he peered over at the metal grate flooring.

"I wanna live." Pat stated out of the blue.

Victor paused and then barked a laugh, turned to Pat with a smirk. "I think you're the last person to worry about that."

"See, that's what I thought, but…" Pat trailed uncertainly, not meeting his eyes. This brought him back down, the Strategist narrowing his eyes in a concerned manor.

"But what? You can't die, Coren, it's…well…you know…it's what you are."

"Yea, but, I can actually," Pat sighed, getting to her feet and leaving his hold. Victor's shoulders slumped slightly, eyebrows coming together as his eyes studied his girlfriend. "See, 'cause, we have alien beams that can disintegrate crap and…and…what if they have them too? Because…if I disintegrate…I can't regenerate, Vic, that's not..." her voice cracked, as if she was pained. "doable…"

"You're not going to disintegrate," Victor promised. He cracked a small grin, lightly punching her in the arm. "And if you do, I'll take your katanas and carry them with me for the rest of my life, so you'll never be away from my dashing looks, even as disintegrated particles."

Pat laughed once. "You'll be the weird in-love-with-a-katana-guy? For me?"

"Is that a thing?" Victor chuckled, Pat plopping down next to him.

"Well, apparently you're gonna be the first," Pat smiled lightly.

"Except you're not dying, so I won't be," he pointed out.

Pat nodded and silence fell briefly, before Pat spoke up again. "You'd really want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

The Strategist shrugged. "Dunno, I mean I already have spent most of it with you."

"Aw, look, Valentine, we're already basically married," she teased.

"Shut up, Coren," he smirked.

"Do you think dying is sexy?" she flirted, taking him back to the day he met her at the circus.

The usually stoic soldier smiled. "I do."

"I may kiss the bride," she grinned, straightening an invisible bow tie.

"What?" he cocked an eyebrow before their lips met.

Pat grinned. "Oh, honey, we all know you'd be the bride." Before he had time to argue, he was pulled into a kiss.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Drop Hangar_

 _Re'Paki's Jump-Ship_

"See, Agent Simmons, Agent Fitz and I have been working on developing a new technology to defend from Kris's vocal command system," explained Lana scientifically. She flicked a lock of dyed purple hair out of her eyes, hair being tied back in a ponytail. "Seeing as they're not available for this fight, I'm explaining it…" she huffed.

The scientist lifted a small syringe filled with a strange orange liquid.

"This injection contains a small micro-transmitter. The transmitter has the capability to project a signal that converges on the signal and pitch that Kris produces when he speaks." She looked around the room of confused faces with a frown. "Right, okay, the device in this syringe should protect from Kris's powers by blocking out the frequency in his voice." A series of nods and 'ohs'.

"So, wait a minute," Spencer raised a hand. "Kris's powers are like Sirens? Frequencies and underlying tones and crap?"

"Um. Yea…sorta…" agreed Lana. "Scientifically, at least, they're similar and would be grouped into the same category, but they're vastly dissimilar in other aspects."

"Right, right, right," Spencer waved her off. "But will this turn off her powers? Because that would be bad."

Everyone turned to the young 14 year old biochemist. "Ah—oh—um—no!" she frantically held up the syringe and tapped the glass. "No need to worry about that," a proud smile. "See, the device only effects Kris's frequencies. Imagine that every single voice frequency is a line. We're only cutting Kris's, Piper's will remain intact."

Piper's shoulders released some tension at the news, as did Spencer's and Lachlan's.

"Alright, form some sort of line so we can proceed with injections."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Annaleise watched as Lana continued circling the room and administering the microscopic devices. She narrowed her eyes and rubbed at the angry red drop of blood on her arm, where the injection had taken place. On her left sat one of her most trusted friends and partners, Tamashi, while on her right was one of the least trustworthy and hated people in her life, Daniel. They had truced for the battle against Task Force 0, but it seemed like that was barely holding on, because whenever they weren't glaring each other down they were scowling at the floor.

There was about 15 minutes until they would launch the attack, and Annaleise was sick of this nonsense.

"For God's sake," she huffed angrily at the two. Chatter filled the pit they were in, but the two boys had remained in tense silence. The room was at the base of the large ship and seats lined the edges of it, each with an almost organic-looking seatbelt. "Can you two stubborn idiots work this out, or not?!"

They turned sharply to her.

"Yea, I'm talking to you two drama queens!" she stuck her neck out, emphasizing the point. They scowled at each other again. "That was a _question!_ I'd like an _answer!_ " she snapped.

"There's no problem," Tamashi shrugged calmly, crossing his arms.

"Yep, no problem," Daniel agreed, matching the laid back posture as he stuck his legs out and clasped his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose.

The enhanced rolled her eyes. "Oh _please_ , you've been scowling like Nick Fury for the entire trip."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Who's—?"

"The director of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tamashi replied with a bored tone. "Obviously you wouldn't know." The Asian muttered 'idiot' in Japanese under his breath.

"What'd you say about me?!" demanded Daniel angrily, pulling against his organic seatbelt. A few members of Re'Paki's army looked at him curiously. Each Force had been assigned a portion of the army to do with what they wanted. Annaleise imagined that Maria would be quite good at directing their portions, with minimal casualties.

"Calm down," Annaleise shoved him back into his seat with inhuman strength and looked from one boy to the other. Her furrowed brows eased and she sighed. "Listen, if we're gonna win this thing we're gonna need to—"

"Work together?" Daniel interrupted. He rolled his eyes. "Oh la dee da. It's all rainbows and cupcakes here. In fact—"

"Shut up asshole," she interrupted, silencing him. "If we're gonna win this thing we're gonna need to _not_ kill each other until at least after the battle, okay? Can we do that?"

The two boys thought for a moment and then nodded once in unison.

"Good."

That's when the ship touched ground.

And everything exploded into chaos.

 **I DID IT! I BROUGHT BACK THE CLIFFHANGERS! So, this chapter was a wee bit shorter and for that I apologize, but I'd like you guys to know that the next chapter will be a massive action packed portion and that, as you can see in the title, this is the FIRST PART IN MANY. So all you action lovers just hold on, cuz this is gonna be a friggin bumpy ride. :)**

 **IMPORTANT: So if you notice and ask 'where the hell are Coulson's Team when the Challengers obviously need them?' Well, dedicated readers, this is all taking place in time with AoS and its events. Know what that means? Yea this is happening during the same time that everything they're dealing with is going on (if you saw the Season Finale a while back, then you know what they've got on their plate). So I hope that clears things up on their absence. :)**

 **So many ships! WHO LIKED THE PIPERxDREW MOMENT!? HUH?! And THAT PICTOR THO! Haha. I had so much fun writing this chapter.**

 **Alrighty then, I'll leave it here! This story is coming to a close very soon! So please let me know if there's something that hasn't happened to your character that you want to see! Because I would love to try to in cooperate it, EVEN A FUN LINE FOR THEM TO SAY!**

 **Catch you all later!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **AsgardianGrizzly**


	16. To War (Pt 2 - Sorrow)

Chapter 15-

 **PLEASE READ ALL, THANK YOU :) :**

 **Guys I'm sorry. I fudged up. I totally meant to update every day this month and then life happened and I didn't. Sorry dudes (ladies, don't take offense, I call everyone 'dude'). Here's a brief explanation about said Life:**

 **I saw** _ **Suicide Squad**_ **. A lot of people didn't like it, but I enjoyed it a lot. Joker is by far my fav character (what can I say, I have a thing for villains ((cough cough Loki, cough cough Moriarty, cough cough Darkiplier, cough cough you get the point)) ALSO STRANGER THINGS. I WATCHED THAT AND IT IS AMAZING. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED.**

 **I went to a Comic Con (no it wasn't San Diego comic con unfortunately) and that amazing. I cosplayed as Loki (from Agent of Asgard). :)**

 **I also battled Acid Reflux multiple times because of my love for soda and pizza. (Soda is acidic, as are tomatoes, for those of you who don't know). So, yea, that was fun.**

 **I've been planning out more of the new story. In fact, I have the prologue all written up.**

 **Anyways, point is, I'm back now. X) And this chapter finished at a WHOPPING 7,000+ words and I hope it made up for my recent lack of chapters!**

 **Now then,**

 **Shall we?**

 **Disclaimer Renew: I don't own any characters except Tamashi, Astaroth, Venin and Johanna. :) Also a bunch of random back up guys and gals. I also don't own Star Wars, which has become prominent in this story. XD Or any other movies. The entire alien species (Derga) belongs to Xy-Guy and everyone who wasn't listed above belongs to a collection of amazing people. :) I don't own any other fandom references, they belong to their respected owners.**

 **WARNING: Slightly grislier descriptions and language in this chapter. :) Darker themes and** **TRIGGER WARNING** **.**

' _The Facility'_

 _Multiple Locations_

 _Force 1_

Argentavis Magnificens. Giant Teratorn. Magnificent Silver Bird. All names for the same extinct avian creature that Eleanor rode upon currently. Yes. She was riding an extinct bird. It was a bird with a 21 foot wingspan, which was the size of half of a bus. It could easily seat 3 people on its back, and hold one person in each talon, which is exactly the position this magnificent bird was in.

Evan had taken the form of the bird after Roth had shown him a picture earlier this morning just for this reason. Eleanor was perched at the front, being the leader (God, she felt special). Her legs pinched the massive bird's neck between her thighs and she gripped feathers to remain seated. Wind coursed through her cherry brown hair and the young girl's eyes watered from the sheer speed they flew at as Evan's wings beat. She supposed she could pull down the large flight goggles on her head to stop the breeze, but something about the icy air exhilarated her.

Spencer sat behind her, concentrating in case they would need an emergency force field. He had no need to hold on, for Roth and Eleanor kept him securely in the 'vehicle'. He wore a slick black stealth suit that matched Eleanor's, Roth's, everyone's (except Yael, who stuck to his blue trench).

As mentioned, Astaroth balanced easily behind Spencer, fists unlit for the sake of stealth. His black bangs had been pushed from his face in the wind, revealing a scar on the edge of his forehead that Eleanor had never noticed.

Below the large avian, sitting atop the right talon with one hand locked around the bird's large ankle, was Yael. Creepy as ever, his wine red eyes cut through the night like a ghost. His skin was a lighter Caucasian that peered through the sky and blended with the clouds that they cut through.

Perched on the second talon, guns drawn and scope aligned with anything that moved, Johanna sat coolly. She easily drifted through the cloud, seeming like a pro as she closed her eyes every few seconds and inhaled deeply the scent of summer night. Her bluish black hair had been swept back into a ponytail, and Eleanor humorously realized that Yael could probably do the same and be one hundred times happier with the lack of hair being whipped into his eyes.

They had gotten a bird to ride, while the others were stuck in some alien drop-off ship.

Opening her eyes, Eleanor lifted her head and caught sight of the quickly approaching black building in the distance.

"Drop point approaching!" She called over the wind.

They were unsure of whether Kris knew about the attack or if he was clueless, because of the whole traitor mishap, but Eleanor was prepared for either. From the 100+ figures lined around the black silhouette of a building, Eleanor swiftly accepted that Kris knew they were attacking. Lucky for her, he didn't know about their plan.

"Arrival!" She continued, loud enough for them to hear, but impossible for the men hundreds of feet below to catch. She grabbed the steel gray feathers just a bit harder and ducked as Evan swooped into a large circle above the facility, slowly spiraling downwards.

 _You can do this, you can do this, come on El, you got this_ , Eleanor mentally prepped. She took a few breaths and braced herself, reaching up quickly and pulling her goggles over her eyes. "Drop, drop, drop!" echoed through the air.

She took first position, leaning to her left and continuing to lean until she felt the bird leave beneath her and felt the weight of a parachute pack drag her down into the endless sky. Yael was ahead of her, having taken a swan dive on the first 'drop'. Johanna jumped right as Eleanor passed, staying almost perfectly aligned with the younger girl as they fell.

Eleanor arranged herself in the 'starfish position', bending her legs at the knees just like May had taught her in training. She rolled over once to see how everyone was doing behind her. Spencer, ignoring the seriousness of the situation, was performing a few backflips and front flips as he fell, a close-mouthed grin on his face. He wore the same goggles as she did, protecting their fragile eyes from the fall.

Behind the force-field wielder dove Roth, who almost seemed relax in the tense situation, head turned and side-smirking at his boyfriend. The boyfriend was morphing back easily, finishing up as Eleanor watched. He was snickering, again ignoring the possibly suicidal war about to begin. As worried as she was, Eleanor nearly laughed when she caught side of the bundle of fur harnessed onto Roth's chest, 'cat goggles' carefully in place. Venin was throwing a fit it seemed, claws imbedded in her owner's thick suit.

A similar situation could be seen on Yael's chest, where Winter had been carefully harnessed on as well. He looked scarier than ever, unusually enough, because his eyes were serious and looked dead set on spilling the blood below.

Eleanor flipped back over, spirits lifted by the cat and confidence peaking due to the dog. She lifted a hand and slipped two fingers on the pull cord, ready to go. Approaching. 100 ft. 50. 40. Go.

She gave the thumbs up right as gunfire erupted into the air, all of it directed at the team of skydiving superheroes that had managed to cut silently through the dark.

Everyone caught sight of the woman leading the battle from the opposite side. Dressed in black tactical gear, Aeron shouted happily,

"Where is my darling little sister?!"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Battlefield_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 4_

 _15 MINUTES AFTER BATTLE'S BEGINNING_

Annaleise slid her blazing katana into the stomach of a buff man, then propelling into a spin and shoving her fist into the face of another guy.

It was a mad house on the field. The field was covered by an ocean of people, enemies and allies alike. It was confusing and Annaleise was terrified that she would either kabob a friend by accident, or get kabob-ed by a friend on accident. She kept her eyes peeled and her enhanced senses peeled.

The landing had been rough. They'd landed, the door had opened and everything had exploded into a chaotic scramble for the upper hand.

Alien and human ships battled above, bullets and beams of light cutting through the night air like contained fireworks. Eleanor's team had come in on Annaleise's left, more towards the entrance, and was battling what looked like Aeron. They were the long range attack group, and kept up to their name, blazing through sections of soldiers.

Their internal group had hopefully made it in, because Annaleise didn't have visual on them, but she assumed the best. Piper was a strong leader, and Naia would take over if anything happened. As much of a bitch as she was, they shared the same goal and Annaleise had to admit that Naia was a determined warrior. If anything, Lachlan would take over and get them all in and out safely. Combined with the work ethic of Re'Paki, the intelligence of Lana and the fighting skill of Skylier, they were unstoppable.

As the thought occurred, an explosion erupted in the left side of the building. One of the overhead jet's lasers had cracked the place wide open. It unleashed a slew of new soldiers, but opened up another entryway for the heroes. The hole was in the lower half of the building, but the structure seemed sound enough.

Her sword met a man's rifle as they battled it out for strength. The man was growling, but grinning, like he knew he was gonna win. If not for such a serious event, Annaleise would've smiled back as she jammed a super-strength powered knee into the man's ribs and heard multiple cracks. He whimpered a noise that was cloaked by the sound of battle, and fell to the ground to be trampled by his companions.

A gun loading quite close to her caught Annaleise's attention, but she spun a second too late. The woman had her gun trailed on Annaleise's forehead through the crowd, and there was no way she could avoid it, even with her enhanced speed. That was when a muscular arm slammed into the woman's head. Annaleise's eyebrows shot up as she elbowed a man in the face and cut through a woman, but kept her eyes on the muscular blonde man that had saved her life.

"Th—Thor?!" she demanded over the noise of the crowd.

"You wish, kid," came the reply. Thor's form shrunk into that of Maria's, and then that of the famous Black Widow. The assassin cut through the crowd to Annaleise's side and they battled back to back, fighting off the whirlwind of soldiers.

"Thanks for this assist," Annaleise thanked as they fought. "Ma'am." She added unsurely.

"Don't mention it," Maria flashed a smile on Natasha Romanoff's face. "We gotta help each other out, or we're all gonna die."

"Agreed," nodded Annaleise. She gripped a man's head between her hands and twisted his helmeted head, snapping his neck. The man crumpled to the ground and another guy charged, guns blazing. Annaleise dodged with enhanced agility, but the man managed to elbow her in the gut. Another woman punched her in the jaw, but Annaleise fought back with her katana and her feet, kicking and swinging like a maniac.

Annaleise's eyes caught on the two other boys in her squad. Tamashi and Daniel had teamed up, shockingly enough, and were teleporting through the crowd and slashing away. Annaleise watched as bullets flew crazily in their direction. A few of the enemy soldiers had picked up the deceased Derga's swords and slashed away at the boys, and at Annaleise and Maria.

Bullets rained down from above, nearly hitting the boys, lasers singed enemies into the ground as the Derga retaliated.

"Move towards cover!" Maria called through the Comm in Annaleise's ear, obviously noticing the Sky Squad closing in. She and Annaleise were only about 20 ft away from each other now, but no noise could be heard over the gunfire and upwards battle.

Annaleise leapt onto another enemy, slicing a woman's neck open and kicking another man back. She picked up into a sprint towards a metal guard's platform. They would have the advantage from the height.

Maria (now dressed in the skin of the Hulk), ran at her heels and tore through the crowd. As she neared she swept Annaleise from her feet, clutching her around the waist. It wasn't the most comfortable, but Annaleise made do and sliced at enemies from her position in the Hulk's hand.

Soldiers began throwing themselves at the beast, in a desperate last effort to stop them. The beast was dragged down and Annaleise was thrown from its hand, landing roughly on the guard's tower. The tower was an open top steel platform raised up by four ridged steel legs and two ladders on either side of it. As soon as she landed she sliced at the ankles of the four people occupying the tower.

Two shrieked, falling to the ground. Annaleise kicked them into the swarming crowd of people below. A sword to the face sent the third man to the ground in a dead heap. Annaleise got to her feet only to be shoved down by a broad shouldered woman with a large rifle and a Derga sword in hand.

The woman kicked Annaleise hard in the stomach, and the hero winced. She furiously tried to attack in revolt, whipping her sword through the air. Her katana nicked the woman on the ear, one of the only pieces of the body that were exposed by the SWAT-like black helmets the enemies wore. The woman snarled, recoiling but quickly charging. She grabbed the flaming sword with an armored hand, and quickly ripped it from Annaleise's grip, throwing it to the side.

It flew off the edge and into the crowd.

"No!" Annaleise shouted in surprise, kicking out with her feet as the woman neared a bit.

"Now what, girly?" demanded the woman. She sent another booted kick to Annaleise's side and suddenly the floor disappeared beneath the girl.

Annaleise fumbled for a grip as she slid off the edge of the 20 ft tower and scrambled for a grasp, fingers clawing at the air around her. A few soldiers on the ground beneath her noticed her fall and lifted their swords, aiming their guns. The hero cried out, blocking her face.

A sudden pressure under her armpits made her neck jerk painfully. Briefly stunned, Annaleise reopened her eyes and looked up at her savior. She was no longer falling.

"Tam—" Annaleise stopped. That wasn't Tamashi. But who else could position themselves in the air? An unfamiliar face peered back down at her with deep ocean blue eyes. Ragged messy brown hair could be seen through the night darkness, and a lean muscular body could be made out among the sea of lightly tanned skin.

The most shocking feature was his widespread black wings that resembled an angel's.

"Who…?" Annaleise muttered.

The boy either didn't hear, or was too focused to respond, because there came no answer. He dropped her rather unpleasantly on the tower's platform, but for good reason, because the next thing he did was fling himself feet first into the woman that had nearly killed Annaleise. She went sailing backwards, a look of surprise on her face as she crash landed at the bottom of the tower.

The boy landed with a few flaps of his elegant feathered wings and offered a hand to Annaleise.

"I—I didn't hurt you, right?" the boy asked unsurely. He was a whole lot taller than Annaleise, and she was forced to tilt her head a ways. He stuck out a hand, which held her katana tightly.

"No, you saved my freakin life," she said immaturely, sending him a smile as she took the weapon from him.

He smiled back. "Well, that was the point." He stuck out his hand. "Grisha Woods."

She reached for his hand, but quickly changed to an attack, or rather defense. Shoving Grisha to the side, she sent her katana into the side of a man that had managed to climb up with a couple of buddies. Grisha caught on quickly and jumped only a few inches into the air, spreading his wings and spinning to knock a few more off the side of the tower. He landed, folding his wings over the back of the black muscle shirt he wore along with gray sweatpants and red sneakers.

"Sorry," apologized Annaleise. "You can call me Deity for now." She offered. Betrayal flashed on Grisha's features. "I'm sorry. I know, but it's policy. No names, no addresses. Don't want any spam mail in my inbox." She winked.

He grinned at that. "Right."

"Speaking of addresses….?" She sent him a look.

"I came from there." He nodded at the explosion. "Subject 078." It was added in a sad or resentful tone. "A few others cells opened but…they couldn't fly like I could…"

Annaleise frowned and set a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, but we need to focus now. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

He nodded once and fanned out his wings a bit. "Alright. I have your back."

Annaleise's eyes brightened at the boy. They turned, facing opposite directions as a dozen more soldiers climbed over the edge of the tower. "Then let's do this."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Sky Battle_

 _Force 3_

 _20 MINUTES INTO BATTLE_

"YEA, COME GET SOME, YOU FUCKIN' UNICORN HATERS!"

A wicked grin split across Pat's features as she pushed the U shaped steering wheel downwards, sending her alien plane (YES, IT WAS HERS! ALL HERS!) down towards the sea of people. A click of the left trigger on top of the U wheel unleashed a collection of laser pellets down into the swarm. A click on the right sent a solid beam of light downwards. She carefully avoided the guards tower, where Annaleise was fighting with some winged boy. Seeing as Annaleise wasn't attacking him, Pat took that as a hint not to gun him down.

Three wounds were healing on Pat's figure. The first was a bullet that had pierced her windshield (it had to be hastily fixed in flight with unicorn patterned duct tape) and flown right into her side. The second was a now small gash on her head from an impact with an enemy pilot that had abandoned ship only to be rammed by Pat's ship. The third was a paper cut on her pinky from a minute before the battle, when she had tried to get in a bit of reading time ( _The Selection Trilogy_ , great series).

With an "AY YI YI!" and a "CAW CAW, MOTHER FUCKERS!" she sent herself into a spiraling downwards flight, her wings dangerously grazing a few of the soldiers on the ground and sending them into splattered messes of blood and bone.

Regaining a somewhat steady posture with her aircraft, the immortal spotted her husband off to the left, having teleported only to be dragged down by some suspecting soldiers. He was kicking furiously and teleporting above them, but was being briefly slowed down by the boy he was pulling along with him.

Reaching up to her Comm, Pat clicked a button near the back that changed the frequency. "Husband! Port up here!" she commanded seriously. Then adding a, "Woah, Nelly!" as she eased the breaks slightly. It would have to be a fast transition, or else her ship would become Swiss cheese.

Seconds after her call was sent out, a 'bamf' sounded behind Pat's chair, and she took off without hesitation. A grin sprouted on her face as she heard the two boys get flung to the back of the small ship and shout in anger and pain. She pulled up and flicked the auto switch, turning on her spinny-chair and jumping to her feet. She had five minutes before auto flight deactivated.

"You boys alright?" she inquired. They didn't look very alright, although they could be worse.

Tamashi looked exhausted. His black hair was ruffled and he was cringing with every fast paced breath. Daniel's white hair was splaying out in every direction, and he too was out of breath, though a bit less than her husband's. That's when she noticed it. A thing that would change her life forever.

They looked vaguely like Salt and Pepper shakers.

She smiled a bit and offered a hand both of them.

"Gonna make it, husband?" she asked gleefully. "What about you, unicorn guy?" Pat's eyes drew upwards to the way Daniel's hair was styled, which was a spiked up fashion.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Daniel." He growled. "Quintain." He continued. " _Not unicorn_ _guy_."

"Yeesh, someone's grouchy," Pat grumbled.

"Whatever. We need to get back down there." Snapped the white haired boy in return.

"He's correct. We need to help." Tamashi nodded, gaining control of his breath.

"It's weird…"

"Don't say it," Tamashi growled, wiping some blood from his suit.

"It's almost like…"

"Don't you dare," snarled Daniel, tending to his injured wrist.

"You guys are…"

"Shut it!" Tamashi hissed angrily, clutching a bruised side.

"Friends…"

"Shut up, Coren!" they both shouted in unison, earning a snicker from Pat.

"Adorable," She cooed. A small beep sounded. "Whoops." The jet tipped, beginning its fast paced decent to the ground. Pat ran at the controls, quickly clutching them with both hands and gaining control.

Yanking left and right to avoid enemy fire, Pat released a strict call, "Okay, we're almost there, get ready!"

The two boys stood behind Pat, Daniel putting his arm over Tamashi's shoulder and pulling out his katana. Tamashi matched the action, wrapping an arm around Daniel's back and unsheathing his own sword.

"Go!" Pat cawed. A 'bamf' and they were gone. "Not even a thank you." Huffed Pat as she zoomed past the watch tower, seeing the boys land harshly by the winged boy and Annaleise.

"WHEEEEE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, slamming the gas and unleashing an array of bullets on enemy shoulders. "THIS IS FOR **SPOCK** , THAT ONE **DALEK** FROM **LORD OF THE RINGS** , AND HIS LOVE FOR **FISH FINGERS AND CUSTARD**!" she battle cried. Reaching up hastily, she clicked her Comm back to the proper channel.

"South Tower is down," reported one Derga.

"20 men down near South Tower," informed another.

"30 humans executed near Fifth Quadrant," said a female.

"Alert, my craft has been breached and I am unable to spot the area of contact." Said one suddenly.

Pat recognized the voice. "On my way, Tali!" She called assertively.

"Negative, Ma'am, craft systems are failing," said the alien with a dash of remorse.

"I'm coming, just give me a minute!" she nearly growled, looping around and spotting a Derga vehicle with smoke emerging from its wing and spewing out like a deadly rainbow as the ship spiraled towards the ground.

"Negative, Ma'am, please focus on the mission, I'll pass with honor," Tali said with the affirmative tone of a dying man.

"No! Now stay alive, that's a fuckin' order!" Pat snapped angrily, gunning the gas. She had no plan, but somehow she would save this alien. Somehow she would help. She would be goddamn _helpful_ , and save Re'Paki's trusted second in command. "Tali! Hold on! I'm nearing! Prepare to eject! Just—Just wait!" She wasn't going to make it. She wasn't going to make it. Just hold on. Hold on. HoldOnHoldOnHoldOnHoldOnHold—

"Commander Coren, it has been an honor to—"

A rain of bullets flew past Pat's window and suddenly a mushroom of heat and light and radiation split through the air. Tali's line evaporated into static and Pat froze in shock.

"Tali?"

He was gone. Just like that.

She continued to gun her plane, unsure of what to do. She flew through the smoke that remained, the only reminder of the soldier that had just died. Something hit her windshield and Pat glanced up to see a deformed ivory colored eye splattered across the glass.

Pat gagged, eyes widening.

Everything released at once, the immortal's voice raising into a scream as she sent her ship into a spin, sending every piece of gore off of her windshield and into the night sky. She pulled up until she was flying upside down over the army of soldiers and gunning down everything in her path.

"You fucking bastards!" she screamed. "You're _dead!_ "

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Subject Chambers_

' _The Facility'_

 _17 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

Daedre could hear commotion outside his cell door. He tensed, pulling a bit on the chains that bound him in his cage. They cut into his wrists some more and the Derga warrior cursed blatantly in English, using the most offensive word that Eleanor had taught him.

"God, they got us good!" one man said outside the door.

An explosion rocked the building.

"Shit!" cried one guard. "They blew a fuckin hole in the wall!"

"I know! I heard, you idiot!" snarled a woman. "Come on! Let's go! Boss gave us orders, move!"

The soldiers ran down the corridor, pit pats echoing down the hall as they left. Daedre listened carefully.

"What's going on?" Subject 0 asked in his usual tired tone from Daedre' left.

"I am unsure," replied Daedre honest.

"Is it—?"

"One minute." The alien cut off snappishly, focusing on listening.

He heard the creak of metal as a door opened down the hall. One of the prisoners called out and a gunshot rung out. Daedre's eyes widened. Another door opened and another gunshot. It continued, nearing Daedre from the left. He could tell he was near the end of the hallway on his side, because there were quite a few gunshots.

"Are those…?" Subject 0's voice was quiet.

"Just—Just wait one minute. I'll—I can—" Daedre stopped himself. What could he do? "Can you escape your bindings?"

Subject 0 had been contained in a strait jacket and a single shackle around his left ankle, as Daedre had learned early on. Since then he had been working on biting through the straight jacket's sleeve in an attempt to free himself.

"I've almost got it," Subject 0 agreed, a bit dazed. The words were muffled, coming through his teeth and the cloth between them.

"Hurry, they mustn't have many doors left," Daedre chimed, tugging fiercely on his chains. He'd been wearing them down hastily, and he knew that the his managing not to get caught was only due to Killer being on the other side of the video camera.

"I've got it, I just need to snap the shackle," came Subject 0's voice through the drain.

A link snapped, blood freely flowing at a slow rate from Daedre's left ankle as it was freed. He began kicking at his right shackle with his left foot, bloodying the bottom of it but not caring.

"I'm out." Subject 0 said in surprise.

"Move then!" Daedre ordered. "Prepare. They are near. Hide behind the door and use your shackle as a weapon." He commanded as quiet as he could manage.

Subject 0's door opened a few minutes later. Now Daedre had both feet free, and was hanging upside down after bringing his feet up to kick at his wrist shackles.

"What the hell?" Muttered the guard.

Daedre heard Subject 0 attack, heard the shouts of surprise, and heard the gun load.

"Wait!" He called urgently, dread building in his chest. No gunshot could be heard, the alien released a quiet breath. "I—I'm almost free!" he shouted with a bit of reluctance. "And I'm going to escape if you don't stop me now! Shoot him and not only will I escape, but I will _kill_ you." the soldier threatened. "I give you my word."

It was a slight exaggeration. He still had both wrists to go. But it was doable, if he really tried. He'd been wearing down these chains since day one.

"As if, asshole," a woman replied.

With precise aim, he pulled one of his feet shackles from the ground and tossed it through the small slot in the door, which was a few feet away. It landed with a thud outside.

"What the..?" demanded the woman, worry creeping into her voice. "Watch the door." She commanded, and two pairs of footsteps made their way over.

"If you shoot that boy, I'll snap your necks," Daedre promised.

"Shut your trap or I'll blow his brains out myself," growled one of the male guards.

"Did you hear of the attack that took place a few weeks back?"

There was a pause.

"Yea…" the woman said reluctantly.

"Well you didn't think that the attacker was just killed on sight, did you?"

Silence.

"You….?"

Daedre tested his English. "I turned this hellhole to shit. Kill him. Or kill me."

The guards made their decision.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Battlefield_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 4_

 _30 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

"Who the _fuck_ is this?!" Daniel demanded, doing his best to appear threatening while supporting the Asian at his side. The white haired boy was supporting the black haired boy, easing the weight off of what looked like Tamashi's right knee, which was swollen a bit. Daniel had managed to escape with few wounds, although the one gash across his arm was not to be messed with. It stained the gray long sleeve shirt he wore and leaked blood down his arm.

"My name is Grisha," the boy said a bit defensively, raising his hands in peace. "I promise, you can trust me."

Daniel was not impressed. "Yea, because saying _that_ will help us trust you more."

" _Kutabare_ ," Tamashi agreed with a grumble.

"Yea, what he said," Daniel nodded, although he honestly had no clue what was said. From Naia's teachings, it was something along the lines of 'fuck off'.

Grisha didn't seem to like the response and took a step back as the boys, both with swords drawn, neared closer.

"Relax!" Annaleise intervened. She raised her hands, katana sheathed at her waist. "He can _help_."

Maria was skeptical, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, Ann, but how exactly can he help? I'm not seeing anything special...No offense." Grisha frowned but didn't say anything.

"He's just some kid," Tamashi commented with narrowed eyes, glaring at Grisha like he would spring at any moment.

"Mhm," nodded Daniel. "You're tall for a 12 year old, I'll give you that." Tamashi tried to hide his snickering.

Suddenly dirt flew in all directions, blinding the white haired boy. Something latched onto his arm and he was yanked upwards. The mercenary's eyes widened as the ground disappeared beneath him. He scrambled for a grip on the hand that held his arm tightly. Looking around wildly, he found Tamashi in the same position to his right, clasped in a second hand.

Lifting his head, Daniel found that the boy—Grisha—had developed a pair of elegant black wings from what appeared to be nowhere, beating them with strong contorting muscles. Although the boy had the features of a younger boy, from this angle it was obvious to Daniel that he was 18 or 19 years old.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs, squirming and scrabbling at Grisha's arm and terrified of the fall. He didn't usually show this much fear, but the boy had caught him off guard. Tamashi was also shouting at the top of his lungs, listing curses in Japanese and continuing on with other ramblings in the foreign language.

"LET ME GO!" Daniel shouted angrily, bringing his legs up as if the sudden height was a beast itself, clawing at his feet.

Wind flew through the boys' hair as they continued to gain altitude in the night sky. Soon Maria, Annaleise and the remaining Derga soldiers were specks in the grassy field.

"NAIA!" Daniel shrieked. "LET GO. GET. OFF. ME!" He growled, blinded by the pure shock.

Grisha glanced at him, and then suddenly he was weightless. God dammit, he should've seen this coming. He tumbled through the air, forcing himself to contain his shouts into a series of rapid gasps.

The ground was nearing and Maria had pulled out her gun, aiming at Grisha only for Annaleise to stop her. _What the hell?!_ Daniel thought angrily. Why were they stopping?! Pull the damn trigger and shoot the damn traitor! And this was coming from him, their enemy.

That was when his arm was nearly yanked from its socket and he was suddenly lowering at a controlled pace once more. He looked up to find Grisha grinning down at him.

"Who's Naia?" he inquired calmly.

Daniel grumbled and Tamashi glared at the boy.

"You know, he could've died and I wouldn't have complained," Maria said upon their landing. Daniel shot her a glare.

"He _is_ a human being, you know," Tamashi commented.

"Aw, is that a little bromance I see?" Annaleise winked, walking up to Grisha and setting a hand on his shoulder as his wings faded.

"No!" the boys shouted angrily. Grisha smirked.

Both boys crossed their arms, facing opposite directions.

"Come on," Maria said with a smile. "Let's get a move on."

Daniel rolled his eyes and walked over to Tamashi, offering him support as they moved.

This new guy better watch his back after pulling a stunt like that.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Battlefield_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 1_

 _30 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

Eleanor grunted, pressing a hand to her side.

 _Yep, that's gonna bruise_ , she said mentally with another grunt. _Ow…_ another prod… _ouch…_ another... _ow…_

"Everyone okay?" she asked.

The battle was won on their side, or the external battle anyways. Corpses scattered the massive lawn, some dressed in black SWAT armor, and the others garbed in alien warrior apparel. A few living enemies were being herded into groups by the surviving armed Derga.

"As good as I'm gonna get," remarked Spencer as he ran a hand through his bronze hair and it came back with blood stained fingers. He glared at the blood and reached back up, feeling around for a wound and finding one near the back of his head.

"For Thor's sake, Ev, stop fussing!" Roth snapped irritably as he attempted to staunch the bleeding of his boyfriend's left arm.

"No. Not until you let me look at you and get your damn devil spawn out of my face!" retorted Evan with equal irritation as he tried to get a good look at Roth's bleeding collar bone. Venin, perched on Roth's shoulder, stuck her face up near Evan to sniff for injuries.

Eleanor turned, seeing Yael kneeling on the ground and running a hand through Winter's course fur. She barely caught the whispered, "Are you alright?" that was mumbled to the dog. Winter pushed upwards into his master's hand. Yael slipped a small smile and quickly dropped it as he stood, reverting back to his stone exterior.

The young hero turned once again to the woman on her left, who was being handcuffed by a couple Derga soldiers and Johanna, and being led to one of the Derga prisoner transport battle ships.

Aeron had battled strongly. Her psychic abilities weren't blocked by the frequency used to stop Kris's voice, so she made for a tough opponent, but even her powers only went so far. She could only really read their thoughts and their next move, not being able to reach Kris. That didn't stop her though. She had strong battle strategy and led troops well, and her combat skills were tough. She was a master with a variety of weapons, managing to take out everyone a couple times, and even getting her hands on one of Yael's swords before being taken out.

Aeron's hair was pulled back in a tight bun and held in place by a black ribbon. She wore a combat suit, full with tactical gear, but it was accompanied by a black armored skirt that reached just above her knees. Keeping her terrifying elegance during the battle, she wore diamond earrings with the warrior's garbs and sheening black boots.

Now Roth and Evan were fussing over each other, with Venin caught between. Johanna had moved on to handcuffing one of Aeron's hands to a Derga soldier, after putting an Inhibitor Collar in place around the woman's neck. Yael was looking through his coat to make sure he still had all of his weapons. Spencer had walked over to Eleanor and was asking her brotherly things like:

"Are you okay?" and "Are you ready to continue, or do you need a minute?"

Eleanor looked back around her team. Ah. _Her_ team. She'd led well and it made her feel happy inside.

For now, she'd done a good job.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Subject Chambers_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 2_

 _30 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

Naia clasped hands over her ears as Piper unleashed one final scream to take out the last two guards of the jail-like quarters. A steel corridor formed the hallway, a door in place ever few feet that lead into a new cell. A massive hole in the wall formed their original entrance, leading them to the prisoner quarters and making their jobs a whole lot easier.

The noise outside had died down, leading the team to believe that the battle was just about over. A far off cry had worried Naia, as she had reason to believe it was Daniel, but she couldn't worry about it now because she needed to save this alien guy, kill Kris, and get out.

 _Then maybe we can move somewhere nice_ , she thought with a hint of joy. _Maybe he might one day even propose?_ Naia's forming smile quickly contorted to furrowed brows and a frown. _Shut up, you idiot, and focus._ The silent scolding made her feel better.

"Naia!" Piper said, obviously having stated it once before.

"What?" Naia demanded.

Piper raised her eyebrows as if to say 'you know what'.

"Oh." Naia sighed. She focused. Without the inhibitor collar, her powers would work, but the injection they received made them a bit harder to use. The injections didn't block psychics like Naia or Aeron, but they were annoying, like someone poking you in the back of the head while you were focusing on a math test. She focused, concentrating hard on what she wanted to hear. Thoughts from various minds filled her head. Most of them she couldn't identify the owner, and some of them were quiet, far away.

 _Why is he helping me? I thought we were enemies._ . Far.

 _I just want this to be over._ Loud. Male. Near.

 _You better be alive, Coren._ Male. Near.

 _Man, Marie, I wish you were here._ Female. Near.

 _Where's my knife?_ .

 _Knife._ Female. Far.

 _I hope he doesn't kill me_. Male. Far.

 _I wonder where he came from?_ Female. Far.

 _My leader mustn't see me in this condition._ Jumbled. Male. Far.

 _Knife._ Female. Far.

 _The Mejit would be very proud of me._ Jumbled. Female. Near.

 _Unicorns are pink, your eyes are hazel, I want to marry you for realzies…um…what rhymes with hazel?_ Female. Far.

 _My friends, if you can hear me…_ Male. Near.

Naia concentrated, homing in on the voice like an arrow to a bullseye.

"Follow me." She said out loud.

Victor and Ivy, who had formed an unstoppable force, had taken out a large quantity of enemy soldiers, and tailed Naia closely, guns drawn. Piper and Lachlan followed closely, the Irish-born's suit showing and the Siren's lips slightly parted to scream on command. Behind them came the scientist and the warrior, Lana and Skylier. Lana wielded a large rifle, which appeared too big for her, but which she held with more confidence than expected. Skylier held two butterfly knives given to her by the Coren girl, her eyes were narrowed in a determined adrenaline. After them came Re'Paki. The alien Major watched observantly every move made by a human lifeform and remembered everything in case it would be important later. Her eyes showed something darker than their bright yellow coloring.

Naia reached one of the many silver doors and beckoned Skylier, who came forwards and slid her hand through the lock. Three corpses were gathered at it, and Naia suspected they had been thrown during the explosion. The lock clicked and Naia gently pushed the door open.

The look of tired glee on Daedre's face was something Naia would never forget.

He dangled from one wrist, but all four of his limbs were bloodied and sliced.

"Greetings," he said with a sigh.

"Alien ass," Naia said, raising an eyebrow. "Hanging in there?"

"Very funny."

"Hey, man," Lachlan greeted as he stepped past Naia and entered the room. His symbiote suit protected his feet from the week old alien blood as he walked over to the alien with Piper at his heels. "Wrist chaining seems to be one of their favorites." He remarked with a smile under his mask. He formed a blade out of black slime and sliced through the chains with ease, carefully avoiding the alien's wrist.

Daedre's eyes brightened a bit, landing a bit warily on his feet, "Indeed, it does seem to be of their like—" He froze, eyebrows shooting upwards as his gleaming yellow eyes fell upon the alien Major in the doorway. "Re'Paki?" he inquired almost doubtfully.

"That's _Mejit_ Re'Paki to you," she replied in tease.

"You were promoted." Daedre stated in slight awe.

"Indeed," nodded Re'Paki. She walked over, passing by Naia and clasped Daedre in a quick but firm hug. "It is good to see you again Sagint G'thulic."

"The feeling is mutual," a still slightly stunned Daedre agreed.

Naia watched as Piper and Lachlan shared a look, Piper glancing at the two aliens and wiggling her eyebrows, and Lachlan shrugging in response.

"I apologize for taking so long in your rescue, but I had an entire star quadrant to cover," Re'Paki announced almost prideful in her distance covered.

"I should apologize for the most unfortunate technical difficulties I suffered on the way here. I hope I didn't cause to much trouble and—"

"Good God," Naia interrupted. "It's all love and hugs, but we _do_ have a mission here."

The two aliens nodded in unison, reverting back to their soldier exteriors.

"Good, let's go."

That was when a chill ran up the back of Naia's neck. She furrowed her brows as Piper passed by her and entered the hallway.

"Let's get these cells cleared." She ordered. "Everyone, make your way down the hallway and clear out the cells."

The room was vacated, but Naia remained in the doorway. Something wasn't right.

"Wait, I must explain something…" Daedre said suddenly. All attention was on him.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Across the battlefield, Yael patted down his jacket. _What the hell?_ He thought bitterly.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Naia partially ignored Daedre's speech. God. Something was wrong. She didn't want it to happen. But what was it? What was going to happen?

"There's…a stranger…another prisoner…we were close…" Daedre spoke sadly.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Yael sifted through his pockets. He glanced at Winter, and then up at the woman. One of her hands was cuffed to an alien, but the other was momentarily free while Johanna reached for another cuff.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _No. Don't do it. Don't do it. Stop. Stop!_ Naia screamed silently.

"Well then let's get him out of here," Piper smiled a bit, sending a shriek at the next door's lock and opening the door.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Yael frowned and watched as silver flashed. "No!" he shouted urgently. One of his knives was missing.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Naia felt tears well in her eyes, but she didn't know why.

 _Goodbye, sister._

No!

Piper opened the door.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Yael watched as Aeron lifted his dagger from a concealed pocket and jammed it into her own stomach, dragging it upwards through her own flesh and letting out an unholy pained growl through gritted teeth.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

A furious pain ripped through Naia's chest and she grimaced, hands shaky.

 _No._

 _Adrianna!_

Piper's knees buckled and she fell to the floor, speaking one word.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Yael stared down at the dying woman as blood bubbled in her mouth, leaking down her cheeks. She held a small smile, but her eyes displayed uncontainable sorrow.

"I'm sorry…" she repeated over and over. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Tears welled in her eyes. "I love you." It wasn't spoken to Yael, it was spoken to someone unseen.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Piper's entire body shook as a tear slipped down her face.

"Dom?"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"I'm sorry." And the light faded from her eyes.

 **ALRIGHTY. SO THAT HAPPENED. OH MY GOD. I DIDN'T EVEN—I WASN'T—IT WASN'T PLANNED LIKE THIS BUT THE STORY TOOK CONTROL.**

 **IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ ALL (I KNOW ITS LONG, BUT PLEASE):**

 **I hope that wasn't too confusing for anyone, I tried to make it as readable as possible. Those last POVs, in case anyone is confused, were alternating between Yael's eyes seeing Aeron commit suicide, and Piper finding out the identity of Subject 0**

 **Again, I hope this made sense. There was a lot of action, drama and suspense in the chapter and it was very hard to weave together, but I think it turned out okay and yes, everything was necessary to the storyline. :)**

 **Elianora Annora** **, thank you so much for the lovely Aeron. I hope you know what a joy she was to have with us, but it was definitely necessary to Naia's storyline that she died the way she did. I hope you understand the emotional consequences it will cause and how it will help your other character, and other characters in general. Knowing you, you're probably already readying a PM for me, and I will gladly talk to you about it. I love our conversations. :)**

 **Thank you to** **life among the dead** **for** _ **Grisha Woods**_ **, who will be filling in the empty space left by Aeron.**

 **I would love to hear who you thought was thinking each of those thoughts Naia heard in her POV. :)**

 **Let me know what your favorite part of the chapter was!**

 **FEEL FREE TO PM/REVIEW ME WITH THEORIES, THOUGHTS AND FAVORITE MOMENTS AND SHIPS. :D**

 **See you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **AsgardianGrizzly**

 **Ps. Thanks for all the reviews on all my stories. :) Check out the new poll on my profile.**


	17. To War (Pt 3 - Confidence)

Chapter 16-

 **Guys, this story is very close to its end. No joke. Brings tears to my eyes. *GAH* Oi vey, save it for the ending author's note, AG. Seriously though, there's only around 7 more chapters. I'm gonna try to end it before summer ends but we'll see, because that's only about a week and that would mean an update a day and yea, we'll see. XD**

 **Okay guys, IMPORTANT: Thank you all so much for sticking with me. X) Seriously, it brings tears to my eyes that you all still reviewed and stuck with me after that massive break. It makes me feel so incredibly happy and lucky to have a fanbase like that. X) Just thank you, thank you thank you.**

 **ABO/Prodigal Writer (love the nickname ;)) : THANK YOU! Omg thank you so much for your review, it means so much to me that guest reviewers take the time to read my story and look for updates. X) To answer your questions: 1. Yes! You got nearly all of them correct. The only two you messed up were the ones you claimed to be Evan and Johanna, which were actually two random Derga soldiers. You were very close though! Which tells me that you've been paying attention, so thank you for making my day. :) And yes! I am still accepting requests, although I'm not sure if I will be continuing spoof or not. :( However, your question may work itself into my next SYOC, and will also probably be a large part in the epilogue. :) so keep a lookout for that.**

 **MASSIVE SHOUTOUT TO PRODIGAL WRITER (ALSO KNOWN AS ABO) FOR GIVING ME A GIANT REVIEW AND GIVING A REACTION TO EACH PART!**

 **We'll keep this note/chapter short and sweet because the last one was gigantic. X) This one is the usual 4,000+ words. :)**

 **WARNING: Same warnings as last time apply. Minor triggers. Blood. Violence. Language.**

 **Shall we?**

 _The Battlefield_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 1, Force 3, Force 4_

 _45 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

Evan stared at the sheet as it was laid across the dead woman in front of him by an alien soldier.

Aeron. She was a determined bitch, and it was a helluva way to go. Ancient Japanese Style Suicide. It had stunned the unsuspecting group of heroes, especially when her blood had splattered across the grass and all over Johanna's front and Evan's back. The reactions had ranged.

Eleanor had gaped, brows twitching together as if she couldn't believe that the woman she'd loathed her entire life was gone.

Spencer had remained stock still, stone faced and unfazed by the event. The only emotion he'd shown was a split second, blink and you'll miss it, moment in which his eyebrows raised.

Roth had nearly puked into the dirt, although it wasn't the worst thing he'd seen in his life, it was definitely a surprise. Because of this, Venin had panicked and fluffed up. Evan had comforted his boyfriend, completely ignoring the cat, by putting an arm around him and pulling him close.

Yael, who had ran forwards before it happened, stopped as soon as it was done and paused for a second, planted in the dirt. He then took three steps forward and bent over to retrieve his knife from the crime scene, retreating back away from the group to clean it emotionlessly. Winter, who was taken off guard by his human family's movements, barked thrice and remained at his heels the entire time.

Pat and Force 4 had met up with Force 1 almost immediately after the suicide.

Pat's reaction hadn't been surprising, a simple glance, a bit of shock and then a grim smile with the comment "Have fun with all the jerk-faced unicorns down below, you biatch."

Maria had checked in with her boys, Evan, Roth and Yael, double checking that they were okay, which they were. She'd resumed her leadership position and demanding an explanation.

Annaleise arrived with a new boy at her side. He was dressed in average clothing, although Evan noticed immediately the scars poking out from his shirt collar and the end of his sleeves. He shared the haunted look in his eyes that Roth and Yael did, the one of those who had been through something traumatic. The mercenary quickly deduced that this boy was one of the prisoners, and must've escaped during the explosion or been released. Both recoiled at the crime scene and subtly averted their eyes.

Tamashi and Daniel, the two that no one expected to work together, supported each other. A Japanese curse upon Aeron's head was given, along with a middle finger from the white haired boy.

Johanna was still a little shell shocked, and had remained silent since the event. She kept her distance and stuck near Daniel when he arrived, the boy treating her with shocking gentleness.

"Why did she do it?" asked Eleanor in a quiet voice at Evan's side.

"Because she was a coward," he answered.

"What?" Eleanor chirped with surprise.

"She didn't want to rot in a jail cell, so she fixed the problem the only way she could."

"Oh."

Spencer walked over and pulled Eleanor close in a rough brotherly fashion. "Don't let it bother you. She made her choice." Eleanor nodded reluctantly, eyes focused on the white sheet. "Besides, we have bigger fish to fry."

"What do you mean?" inquired Annaleise curiously, taking a step forwards.

"You weren't here, but she asked us where her sister was at the beginning of the battle," Spencer quickly explained. "I don't know about you guys, but I only know one other evil lunatic with psychic abilities."

Evan's eyes narrowed. Naia? "Now that I think about it, they do look alike." He remarked.

"Mhm," Eleanor agreed. "They do look a lot closer than I remember…And Aeron liked Naia a lot back in Hydra, didn't she?"

"They could just look similar," Yael brought up. He sent a pointed look at Spencer. "Not all psychics are related."

Tamashi spoke up from the back, "Either way, we should get a friggin move on. Kris's gonna be pissed."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Subject Chambers_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 2_

 _45 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

"Johanna told me her boyfriend's name was _David_ not _Dominic_ ," Ivy said quietly with a sigh.

Lachlan crossed his arms. All this waiting around was making him impatient, but he wasn't going to say anything. Not with what had just happened.

Dominic Harpers had been discovered in the cell next to Daedre's. Piper's brother. And, according to Daedre, Johanna's now ex-boyfriend and possible ex-fiancé.

"It could have been another Johanna?" Skylier recommended with a shrug. They all kept their voices in a hushed whisper, as not to interrupt Piper's grieving.

The Siren herself was sitting in the middle of the cell, her brother's form cradled in her lap. His ragged brown hair had been swept away from his face. His blue eyes had been closed and he remained lax in his sister's grip. He was a lot taller than Piper, so only the upper half of his body fit in his younger sister's lap, but she wasn't letting go. His skin was pale, as if it hadn't seen daylight in a very long time. A barcode had been stamped onto his wrist.

"No," disagreed Daedre from his place resting against the wall while Re'Paki applied bandages to his feet. "Not with the thorough description Subje— _Dominic_ provided."

"So, what…? Piper thought her brother was dead and he was really an amnesic dating Johanna?" Lana demanded. Daedre nodded hesitantly.

"This is screwed up, man," Lachlan sighed, running a hand through his curled brown hair. As his fingers touched the curls, he immediately realized why Piper had always been so fond of his brotherly stature. With a sinking heart he realized that his hair was nearly the same color as Dominic's, his blue eyes the same dark shade.

Naia hadn't spoken since they had arrived, and Lachlan was beginning to get curious. He walked over, trying to shake the previous thought and set a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and brought a hand to her eyes furiously. Lachlan furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Are you okay?" He asked genuinely.

Naia's response was immediate and sharpened to a point, "Like you give two shits." Meeting his eyes with a furious gaze, she wiped her eyes again and pushed past the taller boy over to the middle of the hallway. "I hate to cut this little pity party short, but we need to get moving." She said coldly.

Lachlan frowned angrily, but couldn't help but admit that he agreed. He gave a sigh when Victor stepped forward to tell Piper. The Irish interrupted the darker skinned boy, setting a hand on his elbow and shaking his head. "I got it."

Victor nodded and Lachlan entered the damp cell.

"Piper." He said once quietly. All eyes were on him. All except the songbird herself. "Piper, I'm sorry but we have to go."

"No." She said quietly, voice cracking. Lachlan peered over her shoulder and found that she was carefully stroking her brother's cold cheek with her thumb.

"Piper, more guards are on their way, and we need to get Kris, remember?" Lachlan tried once again. "I'm…I'm sorry…" God. Why couldn't he think of something better to say? "We have to go.."

"No," Piper said more firmly this time. She hugged her brother a little closer. She knew they couldn't bring him with. Re'Paki's soldiers weren't with them, having been spread between the other groups, so there was no one to take the body back to the dropship, and calling in new soldiers would consume to much time.

"Piper, we—"

Piper looked over her shoulder with a rage like no other, "NO!"

The shriek tore through everyone's ears like glass shards, ripping open their eardrums. Lachlan felt his shoes scrape against the concrete, sending up dust as he was thrown backwards into the stone wall.

Immediately everyone was on edge. Even those who had been standing in the doorway and had gotten thrown backwards with Lachlan. The entire room seemed to shape outwards now, all of the bricks cracked in various places. It was good they were strong, or the room would've collapsed.

Ears still ringing, and a bit stunned as his vision returned and black spots dissipated, Lachlan was a little surprised to find himself sitting on the ground, back against the wall crumbly brick wall. The members outside the door were shaking their heads, trying to clear the ringing. Piper was staring at Lachlan with horror and sorrow, eyes tearing up once again.

"Piper…" Lachlan croaked, although he could barely hear it over the ringing. He shook his head a bit more to clear it as he slowly made his way back to his feet, joints popping as he did. "We…"

Piper sobbed once, and gently placed a shaky kiss on her brother's head.

"I'm sorry," She whispered to Dominic, before standing and rushing to Lachlan as the dams broke and tears rained down her cheeks. She locked her arms around his sore ribs, burying her face in the top of his stealth suit. "I'm sorry, I couldn't—I didn't—I wasn't—" she sobbed.

"I know, I know," Lachlan said unsurely with a nod. He set a hand on the back of her head and combed through her hair carefully, using his other hand to return the hug. "Come on." He finally said after a few minutes. He set his arm around her waist as she clung close to her side. Her head turned a bit and he moved his arm to block the view.

"Don't look. Just…come on…we've gotta go be heroes…okay?"

"Okay."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Various Locations_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 2_

 _45 MINUTES INTO THE BATTLE_

Daedre ran with his leader in confidence.

He'd met Mejit Re'Paki years back, in training. At that time they'd shared a rank and a battle study. Now, she was a few ranks above him and an honored leader. Daedre couldn't help but feel more at home with her at his side. It had been so long since he'd set foot on Fe'Tug, and now with Re'Paki and a few dozen Derga soldiers with him, he felt closer to his home than he ever had.

"And then what?" Re'Paki asked as they ran.

Daedre was giving her a full report. He shoved down his fears and unsureness for his leader. "They left her in the cell for me to guilt over."

"It wasn't your fault, G'Thulic," she reassured, turning to him with wide ivory eyes.

The rest of the Challengers ran at their sides, some of them tuning into the conversation and others blocking it out purposefully.

Daedre turned away from his leader, facing forwards as they blew through another corridor, taking out four guards as they did. "No. But they were my friends."

"Get on the ground!"

Daedre halted his running with the others as the yell came from the opposing end of the hallway. A battalion of troops stood in their path. It wouldn't be incredibly hard to remove them from the line of travel, but the large rocket launchers and submachine guns at their soldiers would face as a problem.

Daedre watched with unsure eyes as the leader, a man with a broad chest and scruff around his chin, ordered the heroes once more. "Get on the ground or we will gun you down!"

No one moved.

The man didn't hesitate, "Ready! Aim! Fi—"

A sickening crack sounded through the corridor a the man's head and neck snapped around to an unholy angle. He fell to the ground, and the rest of the guards stared in fear beneath their visors. The next man to go went with a howl of pain as blood flew from eyes. The third went down when her knees were broken from behind and something slammed into her head. The fourth was killed quickly when his spine was snapped in half.

The heroes watched, unsure of what was happening or what they were supposed to do.

"Damn," muttered Lachlan from Daedre's other side.

"Obviously something wants us to pass," agreed Ivy.

The final man, who was looking around in a panicked manor, waved his gun around and completely ignored the heroes. Finally he spun at them, face contorted in fear and eyes wide. "How the hell are you-?" A slit formed in his throat, opening little by little until the man was on the floor convulsing.

It was then that Daedre noticed that some of the blood hung in the air, moving up and down with small breaths.

"What the hell…?" Victor furrowed his brows and pulled out his guns.

Killer appeared before them, and in one solid noise, all guns were un-holstered and safeties clicked off. Powers were activated, swords drawn and fists up.

"Chill!" Killer growled, hands shooting upwards.

Daedre was quick to rush forwards before almost anyone could fire, although Lana's bullet had to be ducked under.

"Please, relax! At ease!" he urged, also raising his hands.

"There better be a good explanation for this," Lachlan said angrily, still firmly holding his gun towards Killer's head. The girl peered back at him with her large owlish eyes, as if trying to figure something out. Daedre watched as Lachlan's rage built. "Yea! I remember you, bitch! You were there when T and I were taken by Kris! You let you Queen Bitch—" He twitched, shrugging off the memories. "You let her do that!"

Naia sent a glare in Lachlan's direction, but he knew she could do nothing about it, and ignored it.

Meanwhile, Daedre was very much not enjoying the feeling of guns trailed to his chest (as he was standing in front of Killer). "Can we please lower our weapons? Faith helped me." Guns were slowly holstered, although eyes remained on sight like nukes to their targets.

Re'Paki stepped forwards. "So you completed your mission, then," she remarked.

"You bet," Killer said with a sly smile. "And I expect full pay, by the way."

Re'Paki pulled a control pad from her belt, tapping and swiping at the screen. "It is finished." Killer's grin widened.

As the group took off running again, Daedre couldn't help but notice Killer sweep her eyes over the group, as if looking for something…or someone…

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Corridor 351_

' _The Facility'_

 _Force 1, Force 3, Force 4_

The large group of people marched calmly through the corridor. Together Eleanor, Spencer, Yael, Pat, Maria, Annaleise, Daniel, Tamashi, Venin, Winter, Johanna and Roth made their way cautiously down the hall. Quiet chatter gave away their location, but no one was concerned.

Roth certainly wasn't nervous. Hell, he was strangely calm. He had confidence in their numbers vs Kris's. They obviously had the upper hand. Yea, he was confident. Even if he didn't have confidence, Evan would provide it for him. That man was his other half. His world. He'd do anything for him.

Venin, on the other hand, would not. As proven by the low hiss she provided every time he neared to hug Roth.

"Kismet."

Roth turned immediately. Evan rarely used their codenames.

" _Hybrid_ ," he purred playfully in return.

Evan smiled and gave a true cat's purr, one of the many conveniences of having animal shifting. Venin perked up and glared at him with narrow eyes. "What have you come up with?" he asked, getting right back to business.

"I was thinking maybe Morgana?"

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that-?"

"A character from _Merlin?_ Yes," nodded Roth with a grin. Venin bobbed her head happily.

Evan rolled his eyes playfully. "You geek."

"Says you, Comic-boy," shot back Roth in good spirits. Venin seemed to snicker at that.

"Whatever," Evan grumbled, cheeks burning like they usually did when he was beaten. "The name is too dramatic for my tastes."

"Fine. I've got a few more."

"Oh yea, like what?"

Roth thought for a moment. "How about Elianora? It means 'sun ray'." He added for good measure. Venin swished her tail, peering around for danger.

Evan lifted an eyebrow again. "Pretty. But it also means 'other'."

"Ah, right," Roth frowned.

"How about Ofelia?" suggested Evan.

"Doesn't she die?" Roth furrowed his brows. Venin twitched an ear.

"I was thinking more on the lines of 'help' and 'savior', but yea, I guess she does," sighed Evan. "This is what I get for dating a Shakespeare lover."

"Oh, screw you," Roth playfully shoved Evan.

"If you must," said Evan slyly.

Roth reddened, especially when Eleanor glanced over her shoulder at them. " _Evan_!" he scolded quietly.

"What? You said it, not me," he laughed.

Roth crossed his arms, flustered, and Evan patted him on the head, having a small height advantage. Roth sent him the glare of a 13 year old boy who had been denied admittance to a roller coaster because of size: embarrassment and frustration. He deflated and said, "Okay…how about Laura?"

The conversation broke for a minute when another group appeared down the hall. The two large groups collided, hugs and commentary shared. Roth and Evan found their way over to Ivy, checking with her. She seemed okay, apart from a new small red scar running down the side of her left pinky.

The army of heroes continued forwards, now enforced with confidence.

Roth couldn't help but notice as Naia walked with the Daniel and Johanna. The white haired boy comforted her as she whispered to them, earning shocked looks from both. Roth looked up to his boyfriend, who followed his eyes back to the group. He listened for a moment.

Evan furrowed his brows. "Aeron. We were right. Naia's her sister. She felt the death."

Roth's eyebrows lifted. Trying to retreat back to the good mood he was in, he quickly spoke up, "So…So Laura…?"

"Not bad," Evan nodded, understanding his boyfriend's mind, and logic.

"But..?" Roth waited for the next bit.

"But—"

The young men were shushed, drawing them to attention. Eleanor peered back at them with the focused eyes of someone much older than she. Roth listened intently.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

 _Kris?_ Mouthed Spencer to the rest of the group. Nods were given.

"I know you're there, Challengers," he sung. "Now come out and do your job." The next words were spoken with a bloodlust and evil like no other. " _Challenge_ me _._ "

Turning to their leaders: Re'Paki, Lachlan and Maria, the groups waited for their instructions. Maria and Re'Paki looked to Lachlan in a nod of agreement. Lachlan narrowed his eyes in return, dead set on whatever was about to go down.

He held up three fingers.

Two fingers.

One.

None.

With the linked mind of a lion pride, the group charged into the room.

It was set up like something from a dramatic novel or movie. A large platform with three long stairs leading to the ground sat at the far end of the short but wide room. On it stood Kris, hands linked behind his back. In front of him, taking on knee and facing the Challengers, was a battalion of troops.

Above, on platforms hanging from the ceiling and creating a frame around the room, were guards of all shapes and sizes, each with their own small firearm and shield.

Kris's eyes were wide, but not in surprise. More of a disgust. "Good God, You truly are _CHILDREN!_ " His voice carried across the stretch of room. "You think you can just charge in here with guns blazing." Before anyone could aim and pull the trigger, Kris's hand was up and in it was a small black cylindrical trigger.

The mastermind's thumb was pressed firmly on the top of the trigger, where there was a small round red button. "You see this?"

"We ain't blind," Killer called up from the 'audience'.

"Shut up, you traitorous _bitch_ ," Kris snarled, causing even someone as serious as Killer to flinch. Kris's eyes seemed to fill with fire. The words that came out of his mouth sounded like they were sent in silver packaging from hell itself. "You _betrayed_ my lovely wife-to-be, and because of that I will have your _head_ on a platter. I will _rip_ your _heart_ from your _chest_ and shoved it down your _throat!_ " he said with an ungodly shout. Roth worried that the trigger would get crushed in his hand. "Because of you!" he called to everyone. "My _rose,_ my _thorn,_ my _beauty_ is _dead!_ I will have my dogs chew out your _eyes_ and watch you _writhe_ on the ground!" On the shouted furiously. Everyone remained silent, watching the unstable young man with caution.

He took a few rapid deep breaths before regaining his posture and adjusting his cufflinks, as if nothing had happened. "As I was saying," began the older teenager in a suave voice. "This—" the trigger was raised once more. "—has the capability to decimate half of the city. This room is lined with explosives. It will blow if my finger so much as _twitches_ the wrong way. And not only this room, but every Stefans Enterprise property in the city. Every _skyscraper_ , every _warehouse_ , every _building_. Any place that S.E. has stock, will be sky-high once this trigger is released."

"So you will drop to your knees," Kris continued. "You will drop to your knees and bow to me as my men subdue your abilities."

In one terrible moment, Roth peered around the room and saw the guards, the snipers trailed on their heads, the trigger in Kris's hand…

And he had no confidence.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Spencer watched warily as one of Kris's men made his way down the line of heroes, who kneeled on the cold cement floor, and placed a collar around Piper's neck. Then it was Lachlan's turn. A growl escaped his lips as Anguish dissipated in a painful spasm of forced exit. Weapons are taken and brought over to a wall.

Tamashi is dragged backwards to the same wall, fighting the entire time. Soon it is revealed the reason, as a lever is flicked and weapons fly to meet the wall, as does Tamashi's metallic arm. The magnet is strong and some of the girls quickly reach up to remove earrings before their ears are ripped to pieces. Roth and Yael remove Venin and Winter's collars, and Yael's jacket is nearly torn off from the sheer amount of weaponry he has stowed away inside. He is quickly patted down.

Spencer narrowed his eyes. He hated this. He knew he wasn't alone when the thought occurred to him. Why weren't the enemy weapons flying at the magnetic wall?

"Carbon fiber," answered Kris, as if he had read the thoughts. "A non-magnetic material that's stronger than steel. I suggest you watch your heads if you plan on running."

That was when two things occurred to Spencer. The first being that Kris isn't pressing the trigger as hard as he was before, in fact he barely seems to be the pressing it at all. The second realization is that Kris seems more concerned about the heroes than the apparent bomb in his hands.

 _Too risky, too risky, too risky_ , he repeats to himself silently. Then, inhaling deeply and holding it, he spoke up loudly. "You wouldn't risk your empire, Kris! Not after all your hard work!"

Kris meets his eyes and they hold gaze for a bit. Kris is the one to break away, glancing at the trigger. He presses his thumb firmly on it once more and glances at the floor, noticing his mistake. Spencer's eyes widen.

"He's bluffing! Move Challengers!"

Chaos fills the room. Everyone is on their feet within a second, guns go off but Spencer shields the group with a force field as quickly as he can, feeling as each bullet slams into the side of his concentrated wall. That's when a very surprised Kris shouts one word at the top of his lungs, "Delta!", and pain erupts in Spencer's right thigh, the force field dropping with a flickering effect.

Clutching his bleeding thigh, and sprawled out on his back, Spencer lifts his head to see his assailant.

The gun smokes from the muzzle.

"Maria."

 **AND SO CONCLUDES THE "TO WAR" SECTION OF THE STORY.**

 **TA DA! I did it. It took me two days, but I did it. I got another update up. AND BOOM, BANG, WHAT A REVEAL THAT WAS! Don't expect the action to stop here! Think of this is as another mini-calm before another storm. :)**

 **There's gonna be a lot of explanation in the next couple chapters, with a lot of reveals and action thrown in. Hope you're buckled in, cuz this is gonna be quite the ride!**

 **Let me know what you think! Who's currently your favorite character (apart from your own)?**

 **I'll post soon!**

 **-AG**

 **Ps. please go check out the new pole on my profile. :) I fixed it so it's for this story. Sorry about that little mishap.**


	18. Betrayal

Chapter 17-

 **Welcome, welcome, welcome, to the one, the only, STUDENTS OF SHIIEEELLLLDDD! Tonight on the show we've got explanations, action and flashbacks! That's right folks, grab onto something because you're (hopefully) about to be blown away! XD**

 **I HAVE A NEW TABLET. I MEAN, I HAVE IT NOW. I'VE BEEN COMPLAINING SO LONG AND NOW I HAVE A NEW ONE. IT WORKS, GUYS. IT ACTUALLY WORKS. I'm so happy. That's part of the reason for the wait, the other being school. X)**

 **On account of halloween, I put off homework and worked in class (shhhh don't tell my parents...) to finish up this chapter. ;)**

 **Let's get going,**

 **Shall we?**

 **WARNING: Same warnings apply. Gore. Blood. Violence. Language. :)**

 _Room 405_

' _The Facility'_

Maria stepped up the stairs with the elegance of a lioness.

She felt all powerful in her current position. Having just shot someone and now walking up to join Kris at the podium, the throne, the top of the castle, the lead of an _empire_. The people behind her probably think she's insane.

She's not.

She's definitely not.

"I assume you would like an explanation," Kris asked, voice like smooth silk.

"That'd be fuckin nice, yea!" Pat snapped from the bottom of the few stairs. "BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE IS A FRIGGIN TRAITOR."

Maria raised an eyebrow at the young girl. With the right training, she could be a real ally. As if she had lead them on, the heroes broke out in shouts and angry accusations.

"Maria, how could you?!" Lachlan demanded.

"You traitor!" Spencer growled.

"We trusted you!" Evan snapped angrily.

"Screw you and your insane bastard of a friend!" Ivy hissed.

"You're a disgrace!" Yael snarled. Winter barked loudly at his side.

Man, Maria loved that mutt. So cute. So loyal. If only it understood her position.

"Traitor!"

"Bastard!"

"Bitch!"

"Evil!"

"Silence!" Kris's voice carried through the room once more.

He had such power. Such elegance. Such grace, but yet such confidence.

"This all begins about 23 years ago, my father was 32 and happily married to his 7th wife," Kris said, his voice smooth but laced with spite. At the frowning faces of the Challengers, he continued. "He was quite the lady's man. I called many women 'mother' as a child." He clasped his hands together behind his back. "As you can imagine, all of these women did carry my father's children," he then reiterated in a dark tone, "my brothers and sisters."

Maria narrowed her eyes and glanced out to their audience, before returning her gaze to Kris. She despised the people he spoke of.

"As you can imagine," ranted Kris with unnatural grace. "They weren't nearly as classical, nor did they have nearly as high of standards as I myself did. Of course, as some of you may know, I am a curious man. On a Monday in Winter, I paid mercenaries to abduct my brethren and lock them in a house for 30 days. Shall they try to escape? They shall be shot on site. Shall they starve? They shall die."

Maria watched as Lachlan's face twisted in disgust. Spencer, blood seeping between his fingers, purposely kept his eyes on the wound, rather than demonstrate his feelings to all. Piper and Pat were exchanging glances of anger and frustration. Tamashi and Daniel seemed to whisper to each other without talking.

"My youngest sister, at 17, died within the first week. Of course it took some adjustment, having been swept from your life to take part in a battle of wits with 25 other children, who happen to be your kin. Jessica, my inferior baby sister, was an idiotic weakling who thought I wouldn't shoot her dead. What an imbecile." He spat. "The second to die was George, a middle aged business man. He committed suicide after the first five days. It was then that I promised freedom to the winner, along with a wealthy position in my company. From there it was all out bloodshed."

His eyes darkened, and it was as if he had been sucked into a whole other dimension within the depths of his mind. "It's beautiful what people will do when money is thrown in. Soon it was down to two."

Maria stared at the stone floor.

 _The young woman grit her teeth. The blonde woman in front of her had her hair pulled back tight, away from her face. Strands had been glued to her skin by sweat and blood, which covered her face like war paint. She wore a ripped up Starkbucks Coffee Shop Outfit, basically just a white polo and green pants with Stark Industries Logo on the right breast._

 _Maria didn't know her name. She'd been calling her The Enemy, En for short. She was a good few years older than the young woman with black hair. En was tall, and fit too. She held a glass shard shiv, wrapped in cloth, and had a pipe strapped to her back._

 _Maria wore a shaggy S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform. She was just a trainee. She didn't know much about combat, but she had managed it till now. She couldn't wait to get out of there, report the incident and arrest the son of a bitch that had put her in here._

"They nearly tore each other to shreds," Kris sighed. "But I knew who the winner was."

 _Maria lunged, tackling En to the ground. The blade dug into her side and blood spurted, but adrenaline numbed pain and Maria locked her hands around the blonde's throat. It was then that En flipped, rolling Maria over and pinning her to the ground. She pulled the shard from Maria's side and brought it down quickly._

"I didn't want a strategist. I wanted a warrior."

 _Maria dodged left and reached for the live wires emerging from the cinderblock wall to her right. She yanked hard and cinderblock crumbled as the wires popped free and made contact with En's arm. Burns appeared swiftly and En went tense, dropping to the side with a terrified look on her face as her entire body twitched and tensed._

 _Maria slowly got to her feet, bringing the dagger with her, and clutching the wound in her side. At that moment the door opened, light splaying into the room. Maria tensed, panting heavily as a young man, if not a boy, with a gun stepped in and pointed it at Maria's head. He pulled the trigger as a yelp escaped her lips._

 _Maria fell to the floor, crumpling at the knees. Her dagger clattered, the sound of glass breaking filling the room. Her eyes stared at En, unmoving, her chest still._

 _The man kneeled next to En, stroking a hand over her hair and helping her to her feet as her fingers twitched endlessly from the electricity._

" _My name is Kris Stefans." He said calmly. "And I believe I just saved your life."_

 _En shivered, a little shell-shocked. "Mine's—"_

" _Doesn't matter," Kris raised a well-groomed eyebrow. "You get to choose a new identity. The woman that you once were is gone now. You've changed."_

 _En peered around the room, thinking long and hard. She was rich now. She'd killed people._

 _Her eyes fell to the dead woman on the floor._

" _Maria. I want to be called Maria."_

Maria snapped out of her daze as Kris finished up explaining. She unintentionally brushed a loose strand of black hair back out of her eyes. It was still vaguely straw-like in texture from when she'd dyed her blonde hair away. It's amazing how she managed to slip into S.H.I.E.L.D. training under Maria's guise. It wasn't even hard.

Maria Cortez-Stefans. She would be the next power figure. Not a president but a monarch. She would lead this world like a queen.

There was silence in the room as the enemies studied each other. The heroes looked up at the devils in their heaven, and the villains looked down on the angels interrupting their personal hells.

Grisha Woods, one of the many prisoners of the facility, was the first to speak up.

"You're insane."

Kris laughed at that. "You're not wrong."

" _Anatta kureijifakku_ ," muttered Tamashi. _You crazy fuck_ , Maria mentally translated. She'd learned Japanese among 20 others.

" _Chijo fujiyu-ko,_ " Filthycrippled _child_ , the double agent returned without hesitation.

The ninja seemed disgusted, scowling and flipping her off.

Before things could get out of hand, Roth spoke up. "But…how? How can you be the traitor? It doesn't make sense. You were there for some of the attacks." His ebony browns furrowed.

"Well—" Kris began, but Maria cut him off. She would defend herself.

Speaking firmly and making eye contact with 3 people in particular, she announced, "I _didn't_ work alone."

"Traitors," hissed Kris directly afterwards, eyes narrowing under a lowered brow. "Step forwards or our deals are off."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

He didn't look back as he got to his feet. Kris had threatened breaking their deal. What an asshole. He couldn't tell if it was a bluff, but he doubted it. His legs ached from the position he'd been in, but he bit past it in order to follow his instructions.

Wincing, he forged a force field over the wound in his leg and continued to limp forwards.

Spencer hadn't wanted this to happen. He'd hoped they wouldn't ever have seen him like this. He heard gasps from behind, but also more footsteps of a couple others stepping forwards.

Evan walked up on his right and offers support to take weight off his leg.

Anger and spite filled the air around them, their teammates shouting curses and cries of shock. They make their ways up the stairs and are shoved to their knees, where Maria then pulled out two guns and held them to the two young men's heads.

Mustering up a voice, Lachlan spoke up. "H—How long?"

Spencer answered immediately. They deserved an answer. "He approached after the explosion at Caldwell mansion."

Piper choked, taken aback and falling from her knees to all fours. She was dragged back up by a thinner man in SWAT gear.

"Ev…?" Roth said quietly, just barely loud enough to echo around the space. Yael, of all people, had carefully laid an arm over Roth's shoulders in what may be considered a hug; it was certainly the closest thing Yael had ever performed.

"I'm sorry…" Evan whispered at Spencer's side. He regained his composure quickly when Maria tapped him in the back of the head with the gun.

"Aw, cute, go on then, explain," Maria snapped.

"1 month ago. After we were recruited," Evan said calmly. Roth stared at the floor silently. "This doesn't change anything." Evan persuaded, voice laced with urgency. "Roth, I still—" Maria hit him upside the head and Evan cursed at her.

Spencer watched as Yael, biting his tongue to contain rage, said loudly. "Why?"

"You are aware of the Inhuman crystals, yes? The Terrogin Mist?" Kris answered for him. Without waiting for answer, he continued explaining, "Well, as it turns out, Stefans Inc has developed a surefire way to insulate it inside Stakanium crafted micro bombs. Quite the enhancement for wars to come, I'd say." A smirk played his lips. Spencer looked to the ground, and then over to Lachlan.

Lachlan narrowed his eyes, silently willing Spencer to look away, he turned his attention to Kris.

"Mr. Briar should be quite familiar with the technology," Kris hummed. As if teasing himself, he sung, "I heard you were shot. How's that wound doing?"

Roth paled considerably, knees buckling as he nearly collapsed. Yael caught him, fangs bared and eyes slightly widened but filled with anger. Ivy put an arm protectively over her friend, and Pat swapped weight from one foot to the other, glaring Kris into the ground.

"And Ms. Hayes, I do hope you had a nice rest in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s House Facility," Kris clasped his hands together, very obviously enjoying himself. "Maria mentioned that you sleep like a kitten."

Spencer felt needles prick at the back of his neck. What a creep. This guy belonged in an asylum, or dead. Whichever came first. All of this had been for Eleanor. Spencer wouldn't have—He couldn't of—God. He loved that kid.

"But we cleared the case!" Pat finally exclaimed loudly. She stomped her foot in anger. "It was Marie, you asshole! What did you make her do?! You turned her into a friggin traitor!"

"Never the case," Kris disagreed happily. "A false trail, actually. There were many. Evan's strangling was a setup. Evan needed to believe that Marie was trying to take him out. That was Maria, by the way," He directed it at Evan, who looked guilty as all hell. "Spencer getting turned to stone. That was more of a contingency plan. He was getting too comfortable." Spencer watched Tamashi and Lachlan tense in spite. "Marie. What a team player. She is truly quite innocent, although it's amazing what some gossip and a few actors can get you."

Tamashi was beyond furious. Spencer watched as his blood turned to hellfire, and his eyes darkened a hundred shades. Spencer met his eyes and they reached an understanding. Tamashi knew why Spencer had done it. He knew what the stakes were.

They silently peered around the room.

Five hostages.

Daedre was down scope of an expensive sniper rifle. They met eyes and he nodded subtly.

Spencer was at point blank range.

Evan was at his side. He tapped his hand, a signal of approval.

Roth had a Terrigen Mist bomb under his ribs. They held gazes, and Roth closed his eyes.

Eleanor had one implanted in her back. She looked at Spencer with more trust than he had ever seen.

Spencer took a shaky breath. You live to die, right? This just might be his chance.

Spencer's arms flew up, force field unleashing as Lachlan let loose a loud battle cry.

A gun fired and blood sprayed over the stairs.

A dismayed scream rang through the hall.

Two more guns are fired, and blood splattered the side of Spencer's face.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Room 405_

' _The Facility'_

The funny thing is that when something traumatic happens to you, it all speeds past in a blur. The traumatic part is the aftermath, remembering everything happened and watching it in agonizingly slow reruns. That's sort of what happened to Pat when everything seemed to go red and she watched as the two bullets that Maria fired just seconds apart when flying. The first barely missed its target, the force field just a second too late as the bullet sliced open Evan's left ear. The second, however, slammed into the force field and ricocheted into the air at the speed of light, landing off center in Kris's forehead.

Maria, the shooter, was the first to comprehend what had just happened and released a shriek as she caught her brother, who fell to the floor instantly. Spencer was the second, having created an invisible wall between himself and Evan, and Maria and Kris. He gritted his teeth and created a bubble around Maria and Kris, keeping them contained before crumpling as well, blood freely flowing from the wound in his leg.

Lana caught on quickly and sprinted forwards, shoving past the guards (who were also incredibly stunned and lost as to what they were supposed to do) and dropping next to Spencer to stop the bleeding. She turned to Evan, but he was already gone, charging with the determination of a rhinoceros at his shaken boyfriend.

This was about the time that Pat caught up with what was happening. She watched the life leave Kris's eyes. She watched Evan's ear get torn open. Spencer collapse. Roth and Eleanor's eyes glaze over with fear. Re'Paki's men rushed forwards to detail Maria. Lachlan and Piper sprinted for Eleanor. Evan, Ivy and Yael joined Roth. And yet, there Pat was, running with Victor at her side towards Re'Paki, who had collapsed in Daedre's arms.

Daedre was stunned, that much was obvious. He held his leader tightly, a few soldiers staring at them in utter disbelief. The bullet directed for Daedre's head had instead sank into Re'Paki's throat. Unusual darkened blue blood leaked from the wound and Pat reached the site just as Re'Paki drew Daedre close and muttered something into his ear. The closest soldiers eyes widened and Pat watched as the light faded from Re'Paki's eyes.

It wouldn't be until later that Pat was informed that Daedre had been appointed the new leader of an alien army.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

Evan was quite strong, he wasn't going to lie.

So it was easy for him to catch his boyfriend in his lap as he fell. Roth rested his head on Evan's shoulder, curling up like a puppy. Evan brought up a cocoa colored hand and stroked a callused thumb over Roth's cheek, brushing a lock of hair from his eyes.

"Hey babe," Roth managed with a shaky sigh. "How's your day going?"

Evan forced a smile. "You know, I think it'll be even better tomorrow. I'm gonna take you out to eat. That Chinese place down the road. Sound good? Huh?" Roth nodded, clutching his side.

"So I guess Kris was faking with that whole bomb threat," Roth quickly changed the subject.

"Yea, Spencer figured it out," Evan agreed. There was a pause. Evan vaguely heard voices, but he was focused on Roth.

"Medical teams to my location!"

"Hey, can you hear me?"

"How is he?"

"We need to—"

"Help me stabilize—"

They all blurred together in one solid white noise.

"What do you think of Evangeline?" Roth asked as an alien medic started prepping a stretcher.

"It's beautiful." Evan pulled him closer.

"Yea, it means _luck_ ," Roth chuckled. A tear was quickly swept away by Evan. "'Guess I could use some right about now."

"They're on a timer. We have to move," Evan vaguely heard the alien medic say.

"Evan means fighter. That's what you have to be, okay?" Evan shot back with urgency.

"Yea, well, let's just hope I don't explode, huh?" Roth took another shaky breath.

The alien medic was trying to take Roth. Evan didn't like that. He growled at the medic and stood up with Roth in his arms. To his left, Eleanor was lifted onto a stretcher.

"Let's move!" Lachlan shouted with an anger directed at no one in particular.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Hangar_

 _The Playground_

 _15 Minutes Later_

Spencer winced as he put weight on his bandaged leg. Someone locked handcuffs around his wrists, pulling his arms back, and he was led in the direction of the interrogation room. Before they reached their destination, Spencer was stopped and put next to Evan, standing in the hallway. A few minutes later, Tamashi joined them. They were going to question him more about Marie, or at least that was Spencer's guess.

Spencer glanced at his brother to find a dark glint in his eyes. Katanas sheathed on his back, Tamashi glared over at where Maria was getting cuffed and led into the Bus.

"Hey man, you good?" Spencer asked quietly, eyeing the guard a few feet away.

Tamashi broke his gaze on Maria and turned sharply to his older brother. "We're going to make it through this." He promised with a vague tone. Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"What do you—"

Tamashi blinked before teleporting about 10 feet towards the Bus. Spencer's sighed in realization.

"Aw shit…" He glanced at the guard once more, but it was focused on the keypad on the door. The brunette turned to the hybrid at his side and gave him a very obvious look.

Evan followed his eyes to Tamashi. "Shit. That's a problem…"

"You don't say," Spencer said sarcastically. "Can you…?"

"You owe me," sighed Evan seriously.

Spencer flashed a smile and Evan, cuffs restraining his abilities, charged forwards and rammed the guard into the wall. The man grunted, and shouted loudly as his head connected with the glass window on the door. A few more guards shouted from down the hall and came charging, but Spencer took off at full speed, eyes locked onto his target.

Tamashi glanced over his shoulder and Spencer was on top of him, tackling him to the ground and pinning him using his legs. Tamashi wrestled for a bit.

"Get off!" He growled.

"Don't do something stupid!" Spencer snapped back, hearing guards restrain Evan.

"Stupid?! She set up Marie!" He hissed.

"Calm down!" Spencer yelled angrily.

"You calm down!" He retorted childishly, 'porting again. He vanished out from under Spencer and appeared directly over Maria, whose guards had drawn weapons and were watching the fight closely. Maria tried to shout, but by the time her mouth opened a sword had slashed across her face and into her throat and chest. Blood spurted and Spencer scrambled to his feet, nearly falling over again as Tamashi kicked Maria to the ground, released his sword and took a knee with his hands on his head in surrender.

"Dammit," Spencer cursed in a hushed tone as he was tackled from behind by a guard. "Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He lifted his head and let it fall back to the floor in dismay.

 **Whoop! Guys…there's** _ **maybe**_ **4 chapters left…Holy wow…**

 **Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I am sorry again for the late update, but life got real busy with a new story that I published and moving into a school of new grades and a couple other things. I did update now, though, and that must count for something.**

 **I AM SEEING THIS STORY THROUGH.**

 **What did you guys think!? LOTS OF DEATH! KRIS IS DEAD, GUYS. HE'S DEAD. OH GOD, MY LITTLE DEVIL IS GONE. WHAT AM I GONNA DO!?**

 **Please let me know your reactions to ALL of the surprises! Thanks so much to every reviewer, new and old. :)**

 **Till next time!  
-AG**


	19. Revival

Chapter 18-

 **Hello everyone, apologies for the delayed update I was busy training a new pet. :) After that it was planning a concert with a friend, finding new music interests, drawing A LOT and I may have some issues with ending things, so I kind of just put it off. Guys. I thought that there were a couple more chapters. No. There's 1. This is the final** _ **chapter**_ **chapter. After this there is an Epilogue and an Author's Note.**

 **(O_O)**

 **Okay…umm…now then…since we left off on such a cliffhanger…**

 **Shall we? (O_o)**

 _FURY SECRET BASE 8_

" _THE PLAYGROUND"_

 _USA_

Things were….

Well. They weren't great.

And that was a major overstatement.

Yael felt like his fingers were going to fall off, but he didn't dare let go of Evan's boyfriend's hand, knowing that Astaroth would fall apart like an unstitched doll if he did. Said chi-wielder was focused intently on both his boyfriend, the hybrid, and his doctor, the British scientist.

Along with him was the young girl that Yael regretted had ever been drawn into this mess. She was younger than he was, but mature nonetheless. They'd only shared a few conversations, and all of them had been her chatting and him glaring, but she was sweet, he wouldn't lie.

Evan's name had been cleared a few minutes back, after Tamashi's insane attack on Maria. Try as they might to resuscitate Maria, she had passed a minute after hitting the ground, blood gathering in her throat and stopping her lungs from working. Some idiot may believe that he'd enjoy the concept of death, but he was nothing if not honorable. So, actually, yes, Yael was overjoyed. On the inside, of course. On the outside he was stoic and silent, getting dragged down the corridor by his purpling fingers and scowling at the white walls under blackened bangs.

Apparently, this mission was a success, but they all knew it was a cover up for failure. The death toll was unimaginable. They'd returned with a third of their numbers. The team was nearly shattered, a broken mirror held together by masking tape, when it should be replaced all together.

Spencer, against his request to stay with Eleanor and Roth, had been dragged off to the ER to treat his wounded leg properly, as it had been put off for interrogation. The bleeding had slowed and—Yael paused and savored the lingering ghost taste of iron on his mouth, only to growl as Roth tightened his grip and Simmons injected a painkiller into a specific place on his neck. He relaxed immediately and Yael gained pins and needles in his fingers as blood flow returned. Eleanor mirrored the process across the room as they were scurried down the hall on gurneys, eyes drooping and body relaxing.

Among other injuries, Evan's ear had been bandaged. He claimed it would re-heal later, when he had the time to focus some lizard DNA on it. Lachlan had been pulled away for a sprained ankle, which must have happened at some point in the battle, although Yael didn't see it happen.

Tamashi had been detained and hauled off to a holding cell until further notice, but he managed to sneak an apology and a hug to Eleanor before then. On the flipside of that, Marie was released, filled in on what was going on and then checked on Skylier and Pat before getting pulled away to talk to Tamashi about what he could have been thinking when he committed one of the worst crimes _ever_ , destroying any information S.H.I.E.L.D. could've gathered by murdering Maria. Faith was detained upon entering the facility, for questioning and inevitable imprisonment, she had, after all, killed people—even if it was all undercover.

Yael entered the ER and collapsed in a chair, eyes flicking around the room as people prepared syringes and knives and sanitation devices of all sorts. Roth's shirt was removed as electrodes were put in place, while Eleanor was stripped to her barest clothing in order to continue with procedure, electrodes over her heart and lungs. Yael remained there, watching under half-lidded (but focused) eyes in case his assistance was required.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _S.H.I.E.L.D. Medical Bay_

 _The Playground_

"Please remove him!" Simmons shouted, not angry, but severely stressed and pressured.

Evan wrestled against guards as he was hoisted backwards. He released a lion's snarl, and then a roar. "You have to save them!" He barked furiously, pulling against five guards with the strength of a gorilla. Simmons pressed a couple fingers to her temples and gazed down at the unconscious young man and girl on two separate gurneys on either side of her.

"Some doctor you are!" echoed down the hall as Evan was pulled from his boyfriend.

Simmons ran through the process in her head once more, her brain working as a massive checklist of dos and don'ts.

Magnets. To dangerous.

Disarming. Not safe.

EMP. Not possible. Chemical bombs.

Surgery. The bombs are moving in the blood stream. No way to track…

.

.

.

Unless…

"Bring me Agent Peters!" Jemma called loudly, even though the agents were only a few feet away. "Now!" She urged, and the soldiers left in a hurry.

A minute later, Marie was shuffled into the room, a look of confusion on her face. She glanced at the two injured behind the British woman before holding a gaze.

"What—Why am I—Can I—What…?" Marie rambled, unsure of her purpose.

Simmons walked forwards purposefully and set two firm hands on Marie's shoulders. She began speaking in a low, serious, determined, even tone. "The bombs are microscopic in size and travelling at the same rate that the thrombocytes they are attached to are, which means an average of about 6 quarts per minute, or 3 feet per second. If I can monitor their vitals and develop a live x-ray image, would you be able to move the bombs to a specific location and hold them there until I can successfully remove them?"

Marie blinked. "I…" she croaked. "I can—um—yea—I—"

"Good." Simmons agreed firmly, she turned around only to find a certain young man holding himself up on his elbows. Simmons' face fell and she stared, almost as if she was saying 'oh, good God, seriously!?' "How can you be awake?"

"You might want to increase your dosage," Roth returned, leaning back down and running both hands through his hair. "Where's Evan?" He demanded, worried eyes traveling around the room in seconds.

"He was removed from—It doesn't matter," Simmons waved herself off. "I need you to relax. It was your chi that dissipated the antibiotics in such a short amount of time, correct?"

"Yea," nodded Roth with a shaky voice, clinging to the gurney and obviously uncomfortable without Evan.

"Good, then we're going to try tripling the dosage," Simmons said halfheartedly.

"Is that safe?" hissed Marie, grabbing Simmons arm.

"Yes," Simmons nodded. She winced. "Probably." It was said quieter than the previous word. "His chi should cancel it out and give us enough time to remove the bombs if we move fast."

Before Marie could argue, the drugs were administered.

Roth grabbed Marie's hand before she had a chance to walk past, Simmons being momentarily distracted. "Hey, do me a favor and save the kids life first, okay? No matter what Ev says…" Roth smiled, passing out a couple seconds later.

Simmons called for help and Fitz appeared. He was visibly uncomfortable around the unconscious patients, but did his best to use his engineering knowledge to set up equipment. Simmons quickly prepped, sterilizing the area and putting on a mask. Maria wiped sweat from her hands, put on some gloves and sat down in a wheeled chair, taking a breath before raising her hands.

It wasn't five minutes later that a blood splattered over the walls.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

2 DAYS LATER

"I've always like Lancelot. Or Dana."

"A bit _gaudy_ aren't they?"

"I think they're charming."

A kiss marked a tan forehead. "Whatever you want. I'm just glad you're okay."

A cat pawed a darker cheek.

"She says she loves you."

"Yea, just keep your paws off my man."

"Evan!"

"Sorry."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Interrogation Room B_

 _The Playground_

"And finally, your full name is Spencer _Dane_ Cassidy."

Spencer heaved a long sigh. "For every Gods' sake. _Yes!_ "

The man ignored him, adjusting his glasses and straightening his tie. "That will be all. You've completed your inspection. Thank you, Agent Cassidy."

Spencer nearly screamed with joy. His chair screeched against the metal floor as he stood, running two hands through his unwashed hair. "Where's my boy, Tamashi?" he asked immediately upon stepping out from the room.

"Unfortunately, that information is classified," there was no apologetic tone in that man's voice.

"Fine, screw you," grumbled Spencer as he walked away. He sent an incredibly threatening (what with his overtired eyes, slightly hungry stomach and messy hair) look in the man's direction and continued on his way.

Evan had passed his lie detection test a day earlier than Spencer had. Apparently his track record with Hydra suddenly had influence on who finished first. So, with all things going as sweet as marshmallows and rainbows, Spencer marched down the hall with determined confidence. The only contact he'd had to the outside world in the past two days was an escort to and from his dorm, and a notification that both Eleanor and Roth had survived the surgery.

He glanced into rooms as he passed. A woman on an elliptical. A man reading a long book. A man sorting through documents. A girl on video chat with—

"Eleanor!" He called as he stepped in the room.

Eleanor was overjoyed. "Spencer!" She cheered. She wrapped her smaller arms around his muscular waist and buried her face in his shirt, however immediately recoiling. "Oh God, Spence, you smell _awful_."

"Thanks El."

"And I mean _terrible_ —"

"That's sweet."

"Like worse than the time that you were trying to catch that striped rabbit with your powers, and it wasn't a rabbit, and it was a skunk, and you were trapped in there with it because your concentration broke so the force-field went down but by then it was already contained to one space and you smelled like it for a week and you had to take that tomato bath and Tamashi walked in and you were still in the bathroom and you had just taken off your robe and he screamed and you screamed and—"

A palm slapped over Eleanor's mouth and she was silenced. Her voice had grown progressively with each sentence. "Eleanor. What did I tell you about that story?"

Through Spencer's palm, she spoke in a muffled voice: "—ou said tha ee don taw abow it-?"

"Right."

"N'kay." She nodded.

"Never to be repeated, ever again?" He checked.

"Mhm."

He removed his hand and looked down at her with a smile, ruffling her cherry brown hair. "Alright."

The two turned awkwardly back to Daedre, who blinked at them from the video screen. Eleanor gave an innocent wave. There was a pause of silence and then the girl spoke, scrunching her nose.

"Is that why you and T are so close…?"

Spencer batted her over the head and gave an awkward smile to Daedre.

"I shall…try to forget that this event occurred…." Daedre scratched the back of his neck and glanced off to the side.

Spencer coughed awkwardly and crossed his arms. "So, ah, when are you gonna be back?"

Daedre was visually thankful for the excuse to change the subject. "I'll be arriving within the next few hours. I must finish communicating to Fe'Tug the victims of this battle and the total ammunition and vehicle loss count."

"Alright, we'll see you then buddy."

"Indeed, Agent Cassidy," a friendly but saddened smile was returned.

"Bye Dae!" Eleanor smiled widely and waved furiously.

As the video clicked, Spencer turned to Eleanor. "How's that treating you?" he asked.

Eleanor's hand had been damaged by the explosives during the surgery. Her nerves had been fried and a few of her fingers hadn't functioned properly following the damage. Luckily, Fitz had recently been developing some newer software for Coulson's robotic hand. He quickly developed a smaller model and it was given to Eleanor a day ago. She'd been training with it ever since, as it didn't affect her powers. It worked as microscopic netting around her hand that helped her nerves and functions work better.

"Good," Eleanor smiled. "Really good, actually. It's just like it was before, except, well I can't go swimming for a while, the chlorine screws it up. Coulson says that he missed swimming too when he couldn't."

Spencer nodded and took her hand, looking it over. It really did look just the same, except for the occasional reflection when the light hit it just right.

"Am I interrupting?"

Spencer tensed up and gritted his teeth, "Tamashi, you _bastard_."

"TAMASHI!" Eleanor cheered.

"What?" came a snide remark.

Spencer spun on his heel to see Tamashi leaning casually on the doorframe, arms crossed. Eleanor sprinted up to him and leapt upwards. Tamashi caught her, using his metal arm to hold most of her weight. She hugged him tightly and then released, landing on her feet like a cat.

Spencer marched up and the two glared at each other in tense silence, Eleanor between them.

"You idiot!" Spencer exploded. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was _thinking_ that she was a—" The Asian glanced at Eleanor "— _b-word_ —"

"I know what a bitch is…" grumbled Eleanor, crossing her arms.

"So I killed her!" finished Tamashi, smacking Eleanor upside the head for cussing.

Spencer copied the action and heated silence ensued.

Spencer grabbed Tamashi, putting him in a headlock and digging his knuckles into Tamashi's head. "You're a friggin' bastard!"

Tamashi laughed and grumbled. "Shut up! You're the one that betrayed the team!"

Spencer rolled his eyes, feeling a pang of hurt, but—knowing Tamashi's good intentions—continued to wrestle with his brother.

"Come on," Tamashi said seriously, pulling away from Spencer. "The others are downstairs. I want to go say 'hi'."

"Aww! You missed them!" teased Eleanor.

"Shut up!" growled Tamashi, stomping angrily out of the room.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _The Living Room_

 _The Playground_

Sweat beaded Lachlan's forehead.

His legs ached from crouching.

His entire frame ached with weariness.

A footstep sounded just beyond the couch that he ducked behind.

With lightning speed, Lachlan stood and threw the projectile in his hand as hard as he could.

"AW SCREW YOU, LACHLAN! YOU'RE A FRIGGIN' UNICORN SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW THAT?!" Pat snarled, rubbing her cheek where the sock ball had smacked her.

Lachlan chuckled and opened his mouth to speak only to have another sock ball slam into his eye with intense speed. He cried out and tripped backwards, head popping up again a minute later to see Grisha snickering behind the opposing couch.

Pat and Lachlan walked over to the kitchen, their 'out zone'. "For a new guy, you're really a jerk." Lachlan said lightheartedly, shaking his head at Grisha in a playful way.

Grisha shrugged innocently, "You know, Coulson told me you were the top of your class…guess they got distracted by your hair and wrote down the wrong score…"

"OHHHH!" Pat shrieked, erupting in laughter.

Lachlan's face reddened with laughter and he chucked another ball at Grisha. "Screw you!"

"Hello boys, game's still going!" Annaleise cawed, popping out and chucking a ball at Grisha. He ducked back behind the sofa only for Skylier to attack from the side.

Lachlan sat down on a barstool, watching as chaos unfolded in their makeshift game of dodgeball. He turned and looked at Victor, who was just finishing up the dishes. Pat pecked him on the cheek before jumping up and perching on the counter, pulling out her phone and opening up a shooting game.

"Vic, grab me a beer?" Lachlan inquired.

Victor raised an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, you weren't 21."

"In Ireland, the law is 18," smirked Lachlan.

"Ooh," chirped Pat slyly. "Goody Two Shoes is breaking a rule. Imagine that."

Lachlan rolled his eyes and took the beer from Victor, the agent opening up a beer of his own.

They both turned around to see Daniel dive out from behind the chair, a sock ball flying forwards and skimming the table's edge, slipping between a miniscule parting under the couch and nailing Grisha's ankle.

"WHAT?!" demanded Grisha loudly. "I thought we said no powers!" he threw a hand at Daniel, who was grinning like a madman from his perch all the way across the room on a small square coffee table.

"What powers?" Daniel snickered.

"You-!" Grisha gasped, as if to say 'Did he just-? He did!'

"I didn't see anything," shrugged Naia from her seat next to Pat and behind Lachlan.

Lachlan nodded as well. "Yea. I didn't see anything unusual.

Sure, they were being tough on the new guy. But May and Coulson weren't easy on the Challengers when they first started out.

"Ugh." Sighed Grisha. "Fine."

They continue on with the game, Daniel, Annaleise and Skylier now fighting Johanna – the last woman standing.

Lachlan spun back around and faced his friends, sipping his beer and glancing over as four people entered the room.

Piper thumbed the dog tags around her neck with a smile. They were her brother's, Lachlan heard, and she held on to them with a mournful look on her face. While some would consider them a constant reminder, Piper seemed to see them as a piece of him always being with her.

"Hey guys," she greeted, sitting down on the counter.

"Is there something wrong with the chairs?" Lachlan wondered out loud, looking at the three girls on the counter and Victor standing by the sink.

"Well, you're there, so…" Tamashi smirked.

"T! Man, when'd you get out?!" Lachlan greeted, standing and hugging him. "Wow, dude. You need a shower."

"Yea, stupid soldier guys wouldn't let me take one." Tamashi muttered, glaring at the floor. "They were concerned about my mental health." He glared at Pat. "And what does she get after the mission?! A new pair of Katanas from S.H.I.E.L.D.! What do I get?! A mental health test and a possible life sentence!" He threw his arms up, collapsing on a bar stool and glancing at their beers. "I demand a beer."

"Sorry, champ, you're underage," grinned Victor, ruffling his hair.

Tamashi glared and crossed his arms, pouting angrily. Spencer laughed, letting Eleanor take the last barstool. Eleanor was flexing her fingers.

"Guys this thing works so well," she remarked. "I mean, it's like robotic or something. It's awesome. I'm like Luke Skywalker…" she stated, eyes dazzling in realization.

"Luke!" Grisha called out from his place, laying on the couch. "I am your father!"

"Noooooo!" Eleanor giggled.

The dodgeball game had been reduced to a glare off between Daniel and Johanna, a sock ball in the dead center of the room. They dove, Skylier and Annaleise diving from either side. The four collided and shouts of pain and scrambling filled the air.

"Got you!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yea we did!"

"Who's leg is that?!"

"Get off me!"

Lachlan chuckled and took another swig. Oh boy. It was good to have everyone back together.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

 _Field 2_

 _The Playground_

Faith looked down at the closed coffin.

It looked a bit like an escape pod from an old sci-fi movie, except more elegant. Smoother. Blue hues in black metal. Strange black flowers and vines holding it closed.

"I'll return whenever I can," Daedre promised.

He kneeled before Eleanor, the little girl that Faith had spoken to an all of once. She knew she was hated, but she hoped these kids could understand why she did what she did. After all, as a galactic mercenary it wasn't easy to do your job sometimes.

"Who knows, kid, maybe someone will invade and we can come back." Faith offered, crossing her arms. In truth, she felt bad for the kid. Eleanor hugged Daedre tightly. They'd grown so close.

"We can still communicate," he handed her a small black device. "Like a cell phone." He explained.

She smiled and stuck it in her pocket, eyes brimming with bittersweet tears.

"You need to send me pictures of alien dogs. And those things that you said looked like the Wompas from _Star Wars_?" Eleanor nodded eagerly.

"Of course, El." Daedre smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

He stood and saluted to the small girl, to which she saluted back.

And as the large ship took off into the sky, returning to its homeland, Faith admired the team from a far as they became black specks in the distance.

The Leader watched his crew.

The Sister protected her siblings.

The Little Girl dreamed of spaceships.

The Ninja glared, as per usual.

The Brother smiled.

And the Crazy One….well…Faith wasn't sure what she was doing…

The Boyfriends kissed.

The Cat purred.

The Vampire guarded the Warrior.

The Warrior guarded the Vampire.

Their Dog guarded them both.

The Challengers stood smiling up at the aliens, and Faith was—for the first time ever—content.

 **Guys. There's gonna be an epilogue. A song list. An AN. And then info on the new story. Do you want me to post all of this today? Or wait till tomorrow? Let me know please. And also let me know if you liked the ending (not the complete ending but this part).**

 **PM me if you'd like to talk. :)**

 **Till next time… (O_O)**

 **-AG**


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue-

 **Feels weird writing that.**

 **Shall we?**

 **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**

Unknown Location.

 _Drew._

 _I promised I wouldn't ever think about you again._

 _Why?_

 _I'm not sure._

 _Maybe because it hurts._

 _Maybe because anytime I see someone with black hair, I think of you._

 _Anyways._

 _My therapist says this will be good for me._

 _She says I should write a letter to you, and that you'll see it somehow._

 _So here I am. Writing a letter. Alone. In my room. To you._

 **He smiles.**

 _Roth and Evan are getting married. With the whole life and death situation, they figure now's as good a time as any. I think they're going to adopt. Dana and Lancelot seem to be their top name choices._

 _Guess what?_

 _They've never met you, and yet somehow, I touched them with what I told them about you. Me. Yea. Weird, right? I can't even make ravioli. Dana Drew Briar-Cooper. Lancelot Drew Briar-Cooper. They're both so nice. And, yea, those are the two choice. They're naming their_ _kid_ _after you, Drew. Because of me._

 _You're welcome._

 _Tamashi forgave Marie, but I don't think they're dating anymore. I don't know if I can ever forgive her, but I'm going to try. For you._

 _Lachlan has been promoted to a captain—a general? I'm not sure what they call it. Level 10 clearance, though. Like, Nick Fury level. He's in line to become the next Fury, that's what Coulson says._

 _Daniel, Johanna and Naia disappeared a couple weeks back. I'm not sure why, but I don't think they ever felt right being here. Naia was guilty. She'd never admit it, but she was. She felt terrible. I don't forgive her, I don't think. But she was guilty._

 _Pat and Victor want to get married. Well, Pat wants to get married. Victor wants to go on a date first._

 **He laughs**.

 _Lana made it to chief of medical staff. Pretty good for a girl her age, I'd say._

 _Grisha. A prisoner rescued. Annaleise and him are together now. Why? Why not? We're young, I guess. We should be dating in high school. Ha. That's weird. We should be in high school. Oh well._

 _Spencer is holding up good. He met a girl normally._ _Normally_ _. Isn't that weird? He was out getting groceries and he met this girl named Frankie. They're not dating or anything yet, I don't think. But they're close friends now._

 _Eleanor is training really well. She's been calling Daedre every day. Tamashi trained her before he left._

 _Oh, that's the other thing._

 _Tamashi and I are in Europe together._

 _I'm thinking of leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. For a little while at least._

 _We wanna travel. I wanted to take someone. It was my plan along. Obviously I wanted to go with you, but…Yea._

 _Naia recommended Italy._

 _I finally decided to ask someone, and Tamashi was the right one. He needed change, Drew. He needed to leave. So I took him. S.H.I.E.L.D. funded it._

 _So, yea, I'm doing well. I still think this note thing is stupid._

 _But I do love you._

 _I love you so much._

 _And it was unfair that you were killed._

 _But I know you might still be here, somehow. Still seeing me. Hearing me. Kissing me. Loving me._

 _I love you._

 _-Piper_

He sighs, dropping the crumpled note back into the trashcan and looking over at his girlfriend, sound asleep in the hotel bed. Tamashi lays in the second bed in the room, curled up like a cat under the blankets.

He walks over to Piper, sitting down carefully on the bed. It doesn't creak or shift. Instead, his fingers ghost over her face and he smiles sadly, knowing that she can't feel him.

" _ **I love you too."**_

 **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**

 **Everyone wanted the Epilogue/Soundtrack/AN today, so here we go. :)**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed! :)**

 **Till next time.**

 **-AG**


	21. Soundtrack

**Songs (Lyric based) to Represent Children of Hydra Characters and Scenes.**

 **For the story in general:**

"Uprising" By Muse

"Heroes" by Mans Zelmerlow *recommended by AOSISMYLIFE (the lyrics are perfect!)

 **CHALLENGERS:**

Lachlan: "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson" performed by _the Warblers_

Piper : "Brave" by Sara Bareilles or "ROAR" by Katy Perry

Drew: "My Sacrifice" by Creed

Spencer: "Fly on the Wall" by Thousand Foot Krutch

Tamashi: "Monster" by Imagine Dragons

Eleanor: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift or Fienne

 **VILLAINS/PREVIOUS VILLAINS:**

Daedre: "Gunslinger" by Avenged Sevenfold

Naia: "Fight Like a Girl" by Bombshel

Daniel: "Bad" by Michael Jackson

Emma: "Lights" by Ellie Goulding

Vandella: "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato

Dragunov: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

Kris: "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson

Aeron: "Chelsea Dagger" by the Fratellis

Faith/Killer: "Killer" by the Ready Set

 **ALLIES/PREVIOUS ALLIES:**

Victor: "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers

Pat: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley" or "Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows"

Skylier: "Firework" by Katy Perry

Marie: _"Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls_

Annaleise: "Move Along" by All American Rejects *recommended by ABO

Lana: **PM With Suggestions**

 **NEW MEMBERS:**

Maria: **PM With Suggestions**

Yael: "The Devil Within" by Digital Daggers *recommended by Elianora Annora

Ivy: **PM With Suggestions**

Evan: **PM With Suggestions**

Astaroth: **PM With Suggestions**

 **SHIPS:**

PiperxDrew: "Thousand Years" by Christina Perri

MariexTamashi: "Enemy" By Simon Curtis *recommended by Elianora Annora

DanielxNaia: "Fire and Flood" by Vance Joy *recommended by Elianora Annora

RothxEvan: "Army of Two" by Olly Murs, remixed by WestFunk and Steve Smart

 **SPECIFIC SCENES:**

The Tamashi/Lachlan Torture Scene: "Mercy" by Hurts *recommended by OfeliaSevil

You Know Who's Death: "Wait" by M83

Directly After The Death: "Human" by Christina Perri

Daedre's Killing Spree : "Bring Me Back to Life" by Epic Indie *recommended by LadyMorganaPendragon

 **For my author's note I will also be including any questions you may have for the characters or me, I suppose. I think it'll be fun. You know, like "What're Roth's wedding plans?" and I'll have Roth reply.**

 **Let me know via comment.  
**

 **:)**

 **Till next time.**

 **-AG**


	22. Author's Note - Part 1

**Author's Note Part 1-**

 **This is the fun part. :) The Q &A. The Author's Note Part 2 contains a heartfelt message, haha.**

 **So, shall—**

"Hey everyone!" Pat shouted, leaping in and shoving a poor helpless AsgardianGrizzly out of the way. "I'm stealin' this show!"

"What?!" AsgardianGrizzly demanded loudly.

"BOO YA! Consider your show stolen. Now then, shall we?" Pat brushed a lock of blonde hair from her eyes and smiled widely at the cameras.

"You're breaking the fourth wall! And, hey! That's my line!"

"Shh, it's fine," Pat ensured, bringing the camera back to her. She pulled a mic out of nowhere and smiled brightly. "Alright Challengers, so this question comes all the way from the fans! **What was** _ **your**_ **favorite scene**?"

Lachlan tilted his head. "Hmmm….well, I'd have to say that mine was probably the very first scene? In the cold? It was an interesting scene. Cold but interesting…"

Spencer nodded in agreement. "I mean, any scene with me in it was pretty great. I _am_ the hottes—"

Tamashi slapped him upside the head and then rolled his eyes. "What he _means_ is that the fight scenes were strong strategically, with many layers that added depth to the storyline."

Spencer glared, Tamashi returned the gesture. "Yea, fine, whatever."

"I like the Star Wars references!" chimed Eleanor happily. "Any scene with Star Wars references!"

"What about actual space?" Asked Daedre in interest. "Didn't you enjoy the scenes with my ship? Those were my favorite."

"Well duh!" Eleanor laughed. "I just like the emotional scenes a bit more."

"The emotional scenes _sucked_ ," Piper sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I liked the loose, fun scenes. Like—ooh, like the part where we're all getting our names. Evangeline Anderson." She smiled to herself.

"I enjoyed the scene with the dancing," chimed Kris with a sly grin at Piper.

"I thought you were dead…" Pat grumbled, almost annoyed.

"Yes, well, this chapter doesn't seem to exist in the same plain of existence as the rest of the story, does it?" Kris replied, as calm and annoying as ever.

"I liked the shirtless scene with Naia, on the train," Daniel said casually.

Naia slapped his shoulder angrily. "Shut up!" she growled. "My favorite part was when Daniel had to run along the side of the train, and he was in pain the entire time." She snapped, glaring at Daniel.

"Oh please, you're just happy you got to see me shirtless," Daniel scoffed, grinning wildly before pecking Naia on the cheek. She stared at him and resounding noises of disgust sounded through the room.

"Alrighty then…" Pat raised an eyebrow. "Viccy Baby, what was your favorite?" She smirked at her boyfriend flirtatiously.

He didn't notice, examining the gun he was reassembling closely. He shrugged. "Dunno. Probably the battle at the en—" He looked up to a see a red faced, angry Pat. "—er. The scene in the bedroom?"

Pat grinned like a madman. "Yea, that's my favorite too."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Alright, our next question comes from a guest fan," Pat examined the paper closely. "Piper, will you ever find love again? Will you try?"

Piper furrowed her brows, thinking for a moment. "Love, to me, will come if it wants to. If I find it, Drew must of seen and meant for it to happen. If I don't, then I know I have him." She smiled, satisfied with her answer.

"Huh. Love is a many splendid thing." Quoted Roth, impressed at her answer. Piper nodded in agreement.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"This next one goes out to Eleanor! Are you going to visit Daedre in his homeland, Fe'Tug?" Pat asked, shoving the microphone into Eleanor's face. She squeaked but answered nonetheless.

"I mean, yea! I want to! Can I, Dae?" she turned to the alien excitedly.

He blinked his wide yellow eyes at her. "Well, the air pressure and air circulation on my planet may crush both your spleen and aorta arteries, unless scientists can develop carbon suits to protect you…so…" he paused, looking at her hopeful expression. "Maybe, one day."

She bounced excitedly. "Awesome!"

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"So, Lachlan," Pat began. "Some are saying that you're in line to be the next Nick Fury. This question says 'I'm confident you'll make a good Nick Fury. What will you do in that position?'"

Lachlan raised an eyebrow. "What?! Me?! As the next Nick Fury?!" He looked around the room, stunned, only to be met with nods of approval and unsurprised (some might even say bored) looks.

"Oh, um…" Lachlan raised his eyebrows high as he realized he was the only one that hadn't seen this coming. "I mean, I'd want to make the world a better place. Protect it. I want to fix up some of the relationships between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Government. Oh! And I want to change a couple things that have to do with The Sokovia Accords. Those…" he winced. "Those need work."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Drew," Pat started, the room going silent. "This one says that you better keep an eye on Piper and the others. Are you doing well?"

The Challengers sit in anticipation, Piper looking emotionlessly at the ground.

Books flew from the shelves, papers flurrying into the air and yelps of surprise filling the room.

Spencer let out a particularly girly scream and jumped into Tamashi's arms, however Tamashi was just as scared and attempted to leap into Spencer's arms, only for them to end up in an ridiculous hug.

Piper was particularly surprised when a page slapped her in the face. She grabbed it and stared down, taking in a shaky breath when she saw that words had been blackened out, leaving only a few words.

 **-** hey **-** guys-I-Miss-you-i-h—ave-your-backs

There was a moment of silence.

"What the _fuck_?" hissed Spencer and Tamashi in unison.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Roth."

Roth perked up from his place, curled up in Evan's lap with Venin curled up in his lap.

"What're your wedding plans and—"

"Red roses, I want a red suit, Evan's thinking a classy black suit," Roth rambled, glancing at Evan for a nod of approval. "Venin is going to have a little red bowtie and—oh what if we got her a collar with a little rose on it instead? Aw. That'd be so cute. Red and black would be good colors, right? Maybe a bit of pale blue? Something small? Or do you want something big? I should spike up my hair. And buy some new earrings, something special for the ceremony… We could play My Chemical Romance for some dancing music. I love _Na Na Na_ , oh and _Mama_. Maybe some Twenty One Pilots? The older songs? Or David Bowie? Man, so many good ones." he turned back to Pat. "Oh—sorry. Continue."

"Best men?" Pat asked, a little stunned by all the words that had flown from Roth's mouth.

Roth turned to Evan for permission, to which Evan nodded.

"Evan's old mentor Leon Scott is gonna come in, if we can track him down. He's gonna be best man for Ev. "For me, well, I want to ask Yael." He grinned at the vampire, who rolled his eyes.

"And Evan?" Pat asked. "The same person asks 'Will you adopt two kids named Lancelot and Dana?"

"That's an interesting choice," Evan smiled. "I'd love to, but it all depends on where we live and if we decide to stay in this business. Maybe."

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"'Daniel and Naia, will you ever settle down and have kids? I'm sure they'd be adorable.'" Pat read from a small card.

"Kids?!" Daniel sputtered loudly, nearly flying from his chair.

"Yea, maybe," Naia answered evenly. "I've always liked the name Amber." She added.

"Amber. Huh. That is nice…I like Lily too, though…" considered Daniel out loud. "But what if it's a boy? Then it's gonna be Daniel Jr, right?"

" _If_ it's a boy," grumbled Naia.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Annaleise, are you still working for the NYPD? And how did you get your job there?"

"Oh, wow, okay, long story time," Annaleise chuckled. "Firstly, yea, I still work there. I'm just only called in in urgent times of need. Like, uh, let's see…oh! The Invasion on New York! Yea, I was there for that. Terrifying, I'm sure you can imagine. And, well, ah…so I got my job because my Uncle's friend Jim told me about it. See, he knew about the program and told my dad, who told me. They both knew I had a heightened intelligence, and after I graduated Trinity College, I was offered either surgeon or PD. I chose PD 'cause I couldn't be locked in surgery all day. Thus, the story of my life." She smile, satisfied.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Grisha, you and Annaleise are dating? How did you two get together?" Pat inquired, reading the message carefully.

"Oh! Me? Um, well, I guess it just kinda happened. She rescued me. We fought together…" Grisha glanced over to Annaleise. "And then she asked me out to dinner." He grinned.

"Yea, and he got all dressed up," Annaleise laughed. "He wore a tux."

"You didn't tell me it was Taco Bell!" Grisha retorted.

"I said TB!"

"I don't know what that means! I was held captive!" He laughed.

Annaleise pecked him on the lips.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Spence, how will your first date with Frankie go?" Pat asked, grinning like a hyena and perching in Victor's lap for comfort.

Spencer flustered as Tamashi barked a laugh.

"He's gonna buy her flowers," Tamashi contained his laughter as best he could.

"T! Shut up!" Spencer hissed, reddening at high speed.

"And take her to dinner," Tamashi snickered, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

" _Shut up!"_ growled Spencer lowly, crossing his arms in embarrassment.

"And take her for a—a—" Tamashi lost it, cracking up. "A horse drawn carriage ride!" He cackled, nearly falling off his chair.

"She likes horses!" snapped Spencer defensively before tackling his brother to the ground.

 _ **~AOS~AOS~AOS~**_

"Tamashi, are you going to be married someday? Are you eventually gonna be a S.H.I.E.L.D. instructor for future teams?"

"Hm," Tamashi thought for a moment. "A S.H.I.E.L.D. instructor? That is an interesting idea."

Spencer snickered. "Sensei Tamashi."

Tamashi elbowed him hard in the ribs with his metal arm, "Racist."

"Abusive," returned Spencer with a wheeze.

"Yea, I'll consider it." Tamashi nodded finally, going silent afterwards.

Pat tapped her foot. "Um…and the marriage thing, ex-husband?"

Without a second of hesitation, "Yea. If I find the right person."

"What about the girl down the road? The one you said was hot?" offered Lachlan with a shrug.

"Or the guy from the parkour place?" Spencer said without thinking.

Tamashi turned sharply to him, elbowing him again, harder this time.

"What?!" demanded Piper.

"You're—?"

"You?"

" _Guy?_ " Eleanor squeaked.

"As in _male?_ " added Pat.

"You're bi?" marveled Roth.

Tamashi face-palmed, reddening.

Spencer knew he would get it later for bringing it up.

"Next question." Tamashi muttered.

 **Ta da. :) I hope everyone enjoyed. Did you like my little twist ending?**

 **Tune in at Author's Note P2 for a deeper note on things. :)**

 **Till next time.**

 **-AG**


	23. Author's Note - Part 2

**Author's Note Part 2 -**

Oh boy guys. It's been a wild ride. I'd like to give you guys some statistics (boring I know) just to give you guys an idea about a few things.

Firstly:

 **Date Started:** May 2,2015 (This was the day that Children of Hydra was posted)

 **Date Finished :** January 11, 2016

According to an online calculator, that's

 **589 Days**

 **1 year.**

 **7 months.**

 **9 days.**

That is insane. **INSANE**. I'm talking Pat Coren level crazy!

It's **480 pages** long! (this includes both Children of Hydra and Students of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

That's **174,120 words**.

Alright alright alright, so I feel like some thanks are in order. A thank you to everyone who submitted a character!

 **lauraosnes** **(Piper Dawn Harpers "Siren")**

 **MysteryAgain (Drew Pond "Stripes")**

 **Miss Skywalker** **(Eleanor May Hayes "Glow")**

 **Bigger Guilmonmon (Lachlan Butler "Anguish")**

 **AOSshipper (Spencer Cassidy "Psyox")**

 **Xy-Guy** **(Daedre G'Thulic "Xenon", Jaoeia Re'Paki)**

 **VBallPanda** **(Pat Coren "Death")**

 **life among the dead (Annaleise Callen "Deity", Grisha Woods)**

 **AwesomeGirl/AwesomeGirl909** **(Marie Peters "Phantom")**

 **Chloe999 (Lana Thalmow "Spirit Binder")**

 **Skylier (Skylier Knight "Black Knight")**

 **scrawlx1012** **(Victor Valentine "the Strategist")**

 **ATcat** **(Faith Anna-Marie Lakewood "Killer")**

 **AOSISMYLIFE (Emma Johnson "Scorch")**

 **Fanfictionia (Vandella Scritz "Beam")**

 **Elianora Annora** **(Naia Cardillo "Vixen", Adrianna Cardillo "Aeron")**

 **SouthernSinoforian (Stanislov Kovalchuk "Dragunov")**

 **Phantomtwriter (Rebecca Sheinburg "Magma Kiss")**

 **TakenPenNames (Daniel Aumeier "Quintain")**

 **Nefertam** **(Kris Stefans "Incubus")**

 **MockingClove** **(Maria Cortez "Imitation")**

 **OfeliaSevil** **(Evan Cooper "Hybrid")**

 **BirdsSpeedArrows (Denzel 'Yael'** **Sch** **äfer "Red Bird")**

 **LadyMorganaPendragon** **(Ivy Mayeton "Ghost")**

If the names are underlined it's because those people had specific influences on the story's outcome, how I wrote the story or motivating me to write. :) So special thanks to those people.

I really don't know what else to say. I had this whole thing planned about thanking each and everyone one of you but I can't put my gratitude into words. Just _thank you_ for sticking with me. I appreciate it so much.

One more important thing:

I'd like to dedicate this entire story to **Elianora Annora.** She has been with me since day one and sends me messages every chapter. She would PM me with every long break I took asking if I was okay and really understood that behind the screen I am a person with an outside life. :) So thank you EA. :) I really appreciate all your support. Everyone here was amazing and I'm not saying that you weren't, I just want to give Elianora that special thank you.

Sincerely,

Thank you to you all.

-AsgardianGrizzly


	24. AN - Will be deleted

New SYOC is up now. :)

Go check it out.

-AG


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